Grey water question

[Be Peace]

Does anyone have their rig plumbed to use the grey water to flush the commode? This would save having to use fresh water and would be an overall water savings.

[wardy]

Any savings is always appreciated but you'd need a really powerful on-board pump to create enough pressure to really power rinse the gray.

[jzick]

We, at one time, had a farm with a house that, except for propane to heat some livestock areas, was completely off grid. One of our project was to use grey water that was excess to our needs for irrigation for flushing toilets. What we forgot to consider is that sometimes grey water that is stored can stink worse than black water. We abandoned the toilet flushing project quickly.

[Dr4Film]

Not a good idea. Have you ever smelled your gray water tank? It can actually smell worse than your black. I would not want that stinky gray water sitting in my toilet.

If you don't believe me, try overfilling your gray water tank someday and let it back up into your shower pan which happens to be the lowest drain point of your gray water system. The stench will permeate your entire coach.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Rocky Larson]

You can still save dish rinse water in a pan and catch some shower water in a tupperware type tub to use to flush the toilet. Every little bit helps. As other state, holding gray water for any length of time can get nasty. Also gray water can have enough particles in it to gum up a pump.

[Be Peace]

Thank you for the comments. Hub and I aren't in our wheel estate yet, still in the planning phase. I hadn't really thought about the smell that shower and sink run-off could cause.

[puttin]

Originally Posted by Rocky Larson

You can still save dish rinse water in a pan and catch some shower water in a tupperware type tub to use to flush the toilet. Every little bit helps. As other state, holding gray water for any length of time can get nasty. Also gray water can have enough particles in it to gum up a pump.

I think Rocky's got it-

[450Donn]

If you really want to conserve that much carry a port-a-potty with you and set it up outside. Or use the campground out houses, or pee in the bushes. Really, the amount of water consumed by pee flushes can be very minimal. For poo flushes it does require more, but is still miniscule in the overall scheme of things.

[Senior Chief]

Like we said back in the (first) California Big Drought in the '70s...

If its yellow its mellow, if its brown it goes down

[Senior Chief]

Try picking up a couple of cheap pitchers from the Dollar Store, one for the bathroom and one for the kitchen.

Catch the water from the hot water faucet while you wait for it to heat up. Use this pitcher of water to flush, make coffee, brush teeth, etc.

You will both conserve fresh water and keep the gray water tank from filling up so quickly. Just takes a few extra seconds and virtually no cost.

[MartySQ]

Does anyone put a wire mesh sink strainer on their sinks to keep particulate matter out? I just wonder, as I've not been out yet...but thought about that after reading some of the posts around here.
Thanks for the heads up about the sower being the lowest point... would be disastrous to overfill in my little bathroom where you can clean the toilet as you shower...all that would run out into the carpeted area...

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by MartySQ

Does anyone put a wire mesh sink strainer on their sinks to keep particulate matter out?

I do and have two, one for each drain for the kitchen sinks. No solids go down into the gray tank if I can prevent it.

I would also suggest a fine mesh screen for the shower drain to catch the hair we lose during showering. That will prevent having to remove your drain cover periodically to cut out all of the tangled hair that has accumulated.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[first5thwheel]

As far as the grey water holding tank smelling putrid, wouldn't the on the market RV treatments remove the odor? I read up on calcium nitrate that is in these products here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_nitrate. Supposedly this breaks down odor. But I am not sure if the odor is strictly applied to black water of if the product will break down odor from grey water as well?
My grey water tank that I know of has never had an odor. I think it is because we have an automatic dishwasher in our unit and even though I do not use it all the time, when I do use it I think the automatic dishwashing detergent must kill the odor some of the posters are speaking off. But then again I am not inside my grey tank so I can tell you that I am not sure what it smells like. The other day I drained just my grey and some of the water spilled into a bucket I did not notice any putrid smell? Maybe someone else can elaborate...

[clyon51]

I treat my black and grey alike. Always use a "digester" (bacteria).treatment in both. Solids, grease/oil and paper break down into CO2 and water, no smell. Keeps the sensors happy too.