Greywater, also sometimes known as ‘sullage’. This is used water that contains some impurities but not heavily polluted. It is no longer suitable for drinking, however, it still has plenty of use left in it.
This includes water that you’ve used to wash yourself (i.e. from the bath, shower or basin), or do the laundry.
Re-using greywater reduces the amount of fresh water needed for your household, and also the amount of waste water entering the sewerage system.
In the garden
Greywater can be safely re-used to irrigate plants, so don’t hesitate to use it on your garden. It contains low concentrations of soap, which actually suits most garden plants. The contaminants in greywater break down quickly when exposed to the elements and the plant roots and soil organisms in your garden speed up this process.
Ways to go grey
In addition to re-using greywater in the garden, you can also use it to flush the toilet. This will save you about 12 litres of fresh water (the amount used for a regular flush mechanism). Use the regular flush mechanism once a day – and certainly for faeces.
Remember the timeless maxim:
When it’s yellow, let it mellow,
When it’s brown, flush it down!
Only put greywater into the toilet bowl, not the tank, as it can damage the flushing mechanism.
If you want to go grey, but don’t fancy lugging buckets of bathwater around, you may want to consider having a greywater system installed.
Buy water coolers online and rent a cooler from Living-Water Ltd.
