rainwater to flush my toilet - how can I set this up

nadmaj

hi ya

got my water bill and got to reduce the cost of it - what annoys me is that its not the actual usuage of the water we use its the sewage charges that are too much - so to balance this out I'm going to try and reduce how much water I use.

is there any where I can get a free or cheap waterbut I currently have an old refuse bin cleaned so I can collect rainwater to flush my toilet and pour the djrty water

the gutter where I'm going to be collecting water in underneath my bathroom window so the problem is how I'm going to get the water back up into the bathroom into the toilet and also whatabout bugs getting into the bin

thank you

gardner1

sounds like hard work to me

if its yellow let it mellow if its brown flush it down

do you really want to go outside with your knickers round your ankles to get a bucket of rain water to flush your loo

nadmaj

gardner1 wrote: »

sounds like hard work to me

if its yellow let it mellow if its brown flush it down

do you really want to go outside with your knickers round your ankles to get a bucket of rain water to flush your loo

:j:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: brill I do the yellow mello brown down already and use a flush bag just trying to think of ways to save water.... But I like ur thinking

HappyMJ

nadmaj wrote: »

hi ya

got my water bill and got to reduce the cost of it - what annoys me is that its not the actual usuage of the water we use its the sewage charges that are too much - so to balance this out I'm going to try and reduce how much water I use.

is there any where I can get a free or cheap waterbut I currently have an old refuse bin cleaned so I can collect rainwater to flush my toilet and pour the djrty water

the gutter where I'm going to be collecting water in underneath my bathroom window so the problem is how I'm going to get the water back up into the bathroom into the toilet and also whatabout bugs getting into the bin

thank you

You would need a pump to get the water from ground level back up to to your bathroom. The cost in buying the pump and paying for the electricity to run the pump would be more than the cost of the water.

How much is your water bill? How much water did you use?

As for bugs you would normally have a filter on the inlet so the bugs get washed down the drain and only clean water goes into the butt/bin.

Ken68

I catch the laundry water easy enough into a bucket. Just uncouple the pipes and re-direct, BUT you do need a large container and maybe use smaller buckets to transport to the loo.
Wouldn't do for a family and like you say bug issues if you store grey water in a tank in the loft.
But there are companies that do rainwater harvesting systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainwater_harvesting

EricMears

nadmaj wrote: »

is there any where I can get a free or cheap waterbut I currently have an old refuse bin cleaned so I can collect rainwater to flush my toilet and pour the djrty water

I use rainwater to flush our WCs - but I'm afraid the process is a bit more complex than you seem to think.

With just two people in the house most of the time, we tend to use approx 100 litres per day for flushing - so a simple 'water butt' is only going to hold a day or two's supply. Then of course it doesn't rain every day (except this week !!!) so you need container(s) for several weeks supply.

You'd also need a pump and a header tank in the attic from which to supply your WCs. I consider the header tank a 'must' in any house - wait till you have your next two day water mains failure and see if you don't agree ! - but suitable pump is probably a £50 touch


Savings can be significant. Our 100 litres per day would be 36.5 cu metres per year which would cost around £55 and if you're connected to a public sewer (I'm not) there would be a sewage charge of abut the same (or possibly 20% more ?) so you could be looking at an annual saving in excess of £100 which easily justifies a investment of £500


In our case, I have 4 x 1 cu mtr 'Transitanks' in the basement to collect rainwater. These cost me nothing (courtesy of a generous employer who would otherwise have been paying for disposal) but I have seen similar ones on eBay for less than £10 (although 'norm' is nearer £50 each).

My pump was also free (being scrapped at work) but expect to pay something like £50.

I can't remember how much the loft tanks were but (as explained above) I consider them worth every penny without the rainwater use. Our two very large loft tanks hold around 200 litres each so I have a backup rainwater supply for 6 weeks normal use. In the event of an even longer drought than that I also have a facility for feeding mains water into loft tank.

I have no problems with algae or bacteria in the water (all tanks are kept in the dark) but a couple of 'channel blocks' dropped in the containers would soon cure problem if yours develop such a problem.

Ken68

If you live in the Anglian Water region, and use less than 75 cubic metres per year then best to go on the SOLOW tariff. Higher unit costs but no standing charges.

Taadaa

I think you would need to get an underground storage tank, unless you have a large outside space and won't mind some of it being taken up. It could be unsightly as well. It's a great simple idea but unless you are in your forever home I doubt it will be cost effective.

SailorSam

Could you put some sort of T section on your downspout to a spare tank in the loft, you'd need an overflow going back to the drainpipe for whenever we had lots of rain. Then you could make a feed from the tank to the loo.
It's just a top-of-my-head idea, you'd need to have some sort of emergency feed coming from the mains for whenever we had no rain to fill the tank.

Ben84

Some people do flush their toilet with rain water, but due to the sporadic rain patterns, to make the most of the installation you either need a big tank and/or a very water efficient toilet. So, a good start point for you if you don't already have one is a water saving toilet (just research a bit, as I find some are better than others). You may however find that alone delivers good enough savings by itself. With toilets being the major water use in most households, a few litres saved per flush adds up to a lot of water.

penrhyn

Stick a metaphorical brick in the cistern and get on with your life.:D

...................and if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down!!