how to get water from bath to butt!

mrs_baggins

my house is 17 years old and I like having a bath. However the house doesnt have any external drainpipes and the bath water goes from the upstairs bathroom down below into the drain in the garage so there is no where i can somehow siphon off the water. I was just lloking at one of those supplement s that come with papers and in there is a thing which seems to use a hand pumped siphon which is exactly for doing the job of siphoning the water from a bath via a hose out the window to a waiting butt. Just wondered if anyone has seen this type of thing in action and if it works. Basically the water would have to go from the bath out the window above it which is about 1 1/2 feet before it can then flo down into a waiting butt.

Suzy_M

Not sure what type you mean but we use one of the standard siphons you can get from car spares shops - cost about £2.99. We've always got on fine, including the 4 feet rise to get through the window before dropping down to the water butt. Only fiddly bit is anchoring the end in the bath.

Teacher2301

B&Q do them - not sure on price though. Any good garden store will also stock them.

katyk_2

Slightly different tack but can anyone advise me how using bathwater for plants works - doesn't the presence of soap/shampoo etc harm the plants?

mrs_baggins

Suzy_M wrote: »

Not sure what type you mean but we use one of the standard siphons you can get from car spares shops - cost about £2.99. We've always got on fine, including the 4 feet rise to get through the window before dropping down to the water butt. Only fiddly bit is anchoring the end in the bath.

how do you get the flow started?? I dont think I would have enough puff to get it going myself!

jimbo_the_jetset

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Watergreen-Syphon-Pump-Recycle-Bath-Water.htm

Tells you then general idea here

Ebenezer_Scrooge_2

Good idea! my grandad always used to empty the dishwater out onto the lawn also in the summer

alanobrien

Just one point, if the water is contaminated with detergents etc it will not store for long so you need to use it fairly quickly. We use ours on borders mostly but not on veg etc

Suzy_M

mrs_baggins wrote: »

how do you get the flow started?? I dont think I would have enough puff to get it going myself!

Just give the bulb a few squeezes until you see the water (through the clear tube) go out the window then the siphon action takes over.

Suzy_M

katyk wrote: »

Slightly different tack but can anyone advise me how using bathwater for plants works - doesn't the presence of soap/shampoo etc harm the plants?

Going back to the drought of 1976 (when foundations cracked etc) my father salvaged all the waste water from the house, apart from the toilets of course, for the large garden. Bath and shower water together with washing up water and washing machine water went into the water butt.

Opinions vary on whether or not grey water harms plants but we never noticed any problems with any fruit or vegetables - in fact it was one of the best pest-free years ever. The trick is not to apply the water to the plants but to the soil which would then filter out any nasties.

If you do decide to salvage washing-up water I suggest pouring it through a sieve. - We temporarily lost a lot of teaspoons that year!

Seakay

The syphon thing with squeezy bulb works really well as long as the bath is higher than the butt - no good for a ground floor bathroom- but you will need a hosepipe as well.
If you use eco friendly soaps and bath stuff then there is no problem with puttin grey water on the garden. If you use detergents then make sure that food plants aren't touched - just in case - but it still should be fine for the soil.
Natural soap is good for deterring and killing aphids.