Gray water line?

Hey folks. It has been a while since I have posted anything. I hope you all are doing well in this new year.

I will hopefully start building my new home in the spring time. So now I am thinking of what types of things I want for it. I am thinking that I would like to have all of my washing machines, dishwashers, drains for water heaters, HVAC, etc. all go into one drain line. I don't want to have all of these going into my septic system.

Have any of you done this? Are there any websites that can show me what and how to do it? Is there anything that I am missing? I mean it sounds like a good idea to me, but I'd like to poll folks that have been through it.

Also, what do you think of the idea of containing the rain water from the roof. I was thinking I could use it for watering flowers or many other things.

Thanks for your help.

First you should check with the local regulations to see what is required and then make some decisions.

Rainwater is what usually waters the land.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Grey water depends on county regs. it is highly encouraged here in Az but might not be where you are. I dug a shallow trench 24 in deep and filled it with rocks ( I got lots of those ) and run the grey water into there it perks out into the ground and waters a couple of trees.

Do a google for "rain water harvesting" you will get enough to make your head hurt.

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] The "grey water" issue is definitely worth considering if you will be using a septic tank. Here in SE Iowa, residential sewage handling is just now beginning to be an issue. Some of the counties have hired sanitarians who now need to justify their salaries so permit systems have been established and home sales have been flagged for pre-sale inspections. The new sewage requirements have been a frequent deal-breaker on many home sales. The new sewage systems as required by the more "progressive" counties are expensive, obtrusive, and they actually don't work very well, or for very long. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] The big enemy of septic systems is the drain from the laundry; the big enemy of grey water systems is the dishwasher. Grease and food particles are dynamite when it comes to leach fields, whether they are grey or black. We are fortunate to have a grey water outlet which connects to the underground drainage lines in the adjacent farmland. With that kind of flow, we don't have to worry quite so much about grease and lint accumulating in a leach field, but nonetheless I always keep a top-cut-open, one-gallon milk carton under the sink, and everything that is greasy and yukky goes in that. When the carton is full it goes into the incinerator with the rest of the kitchen garbage. Sooo.... to summarize, DIRT from the clothes washer is the enemy of a septic system; GREASE from the kitchen is the enemy of a grey water system.

"Also, what do you think of the idea of containing the rain water from the roof. I was thinking I could use it for watering flowers or many other things."

Check your local regulations on that too, I know in Denver (and probably other parts of Colorado) that is illegal, once the drop hits something, it belongs to a water user, which is rarely the person who owns the land it falls on. Don't imagine it is enforced much, but I know 4 years ago it was because the drought was so bad.