Water Recycling Systems
Most of the water used in the home can be re-used in some way.
Rainwater recycling
Rainwater recycling involves catching and containing rain from roof areas and treating it for domestic or commercial use. The average home can produce as much as 100,000 liters per year which may be put to a multitude of uses in the grounds and property. Using a simple water butt can save large amounts of money on metered water charges - especially if you currently use a mains water hosepipe for lawns etc. Greater use of rainwater can be made if it is collected via a filter system, stored in an underground or over-ground tank and pumped to a separate water storage tank for use in toilet-flushing and for washing machines. For most households, this could reduce water consumption by 30 - 50%.
Greywater recycling
Greywater is commonly taken to be water previously used for washing, for example baths, showers, washing machines and dishwashers. Greywater can also be reused in similar way to rainwater but because of the fats contained in it (from soap, skin oils, detergents) and various other additives (softeners, bleaches, disinfectants) treatment can be more complex. The quality of the greywater you collect ultimately depends upon what you put in it when it is clean, so to get good quality greywater you will need to filter out any particles by using a simple mesh filter on the plughole. Where all greywater is being recycled it should be passed through several filtering systems, then a grease trap, then a sand filter before the resulting water can be used with little worry over the potential accumulation of harmful chemicals.
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