Gray water, in lay man’s language, is the water that we produce by various activities such as washing dishes, washing machines, shower, bathroom washbasins and the like. This water normally ends up in the sewer, which results in two problems. First, in the near future, we might fact problem for waste disposal. Second, even the portable water that accidentally mixes with this greywater goes to waste. Furthermore, countries that lack proper waste disposal system dispose of this water into the river and sea, which creates even more problems. However, with the help of modern technology, we can reuse gray water for various other purposes. Let us see six innovative appliances that do this making the most of it.
Six innovative products designed to capture and reuse gray water
Now no longer will gray water be termed as wastewater, as it has the potential to flush your tanks and water your garden. This recycling of greywater is fast becoming a viable option for larger housing societies and homes. In fact, you can even do it yourself at home. Here are five innovative products that reuse gray water.
1. Sloan® AQUS® Graywater System
The Sloan® AQUS® Graywater System is a great device. It is designed by Sloan Valve Company for preventing used water from going down the drain. Keeping in mind the fact that we waste the most amount of water via tanks in the bathrooms, so why use fresh potable water for flushes. This is precisely what the Sloan AQUS Graywater System does – it filters the water from your sinks and then puts it back into the tanks so that you can reuse it for flushing purposes.
In this system, the device connects to the drain of your sink to the flush tank. Therefore, the water that leaves the sink filters to the flush tank. This device recycles graywater and has the capacity of saving 5 thousand gallons of potable water that could have literally gone down the drain otherwise. However, the only thing to watch out for would be to treat the graywater properly, else you could end up with foul smell in your toilets.
2. Grey Away’ Water Harvesting System
The Grey Away Water Harvesting System is a device that saves potable water which would have otherwise been flushed out in huge quantities from your toilets. This system has been the creation of Stuart Winkless and works by reusing or recycling the water from your sinks and gutters. The gray water thus passes through a double stage carbon filtration mechanism once the relevant cleaning pumps back inside the homes for use in toilet tanks and also for water the plants in the garden.
The Grey Away not only serves an environmental cause but it also has an eco-friendly design. This device is very user friendly and only needs manual cleaning of its filter twice a year. The Grey Away makes use of a water pump for distributing the recycled water and also has a toilet refilling mechanism which takes care of the water level in the toilet tank.
3. Flush your toilet with recycled gray water
Gray water has a lot of potentials if we treat it in the right manner. It must be understood that gray water should not contain any organic or human waste and chemicals, hence the most suitable source of gray water are sinks, bath tubs, washing machines, dishwashers and showers. We can clean this water via filters for watering gardens and filling up toilet tanks for flushing. We should not use grey water for drinking purposes. Even after filteration, it is impure. However, we can use greywater as such, even without treatment.
The gray water pumps by Saniflo are great for domestic usage because of their compact size. The Saniflo tank stores the gray water from the house. One can later use it for filling toilet tanks or even for watering the garden. This gray water pump system mechanism can be a boon to your household. With it, you do not have to pay extra for water treatment, making it an affordable option!
4. Gray Water Toilet System
The Gray Water Toilet System is very eco-friendly and collected all the water that has been partially used from sinks, bath tubs, showers and kitchen sink and it pumps it inside the toilet tank for flushing purposes. If the toilet tank is not used, then the mechanism works in a way in which the toilet flushes out the gray water every 24 hours in order to maintain cleanliness and prevent bacteria from growing inside. It also has another standby mechanism in which the system is cleansed with a low-intensity ultrasonic radiation.
5. Washing Machine/Toilet Combo
The Washup is a washing machine and toilet combination gadget that is an entry for the Greener Gadget contest. This innovative design makes use of a washing machine and the gray water produced thereof is used to flush the toilet that sits beneath it. It helps you in reducing water consumption in the bathroom. Furthermore, this concept does sound convincing as the soapy water could also keep the toilet clean. The only drawback is the way the washing machine towers above the toilet seat – making the process of putting in and taking out laundry a cumbersome affair.
6. SolarVoir
Freshwater resources are few on the planet and they constitute a mere 2-3% of all water resources available. The rivers are dying. Therefore, with a growing population and growing industrial and urban need along with it, reduction in usage of water and reusing it is of great significance. Grey Water technology has developed amazingly well in the past decade, yet most homes across the planet seem to be almost oblivious of it. Now is the time you can change that with the SolarVoir.
SolarVoir is a modular household appliance for collecting waste domestic water to recycle and reuse it for multiple times. It also uses a UV technology to decontaminate water. Ashok Gadgil, inventor and scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, is a philanthropist and inventor. With this product, it is now possible to reuse dozens of liters of water which is a product of domestic activities, and which, otherwise, would go to waste.
This product foresees a paradigm shift and a future scenario, in which pipe inlets and outlets of all domestic appliances are made to be more accessible. This improved accessibility is a must to make the most of the water we use for domestic activities. SolarVoir comes in three main sub-parts. The top panel hosts the user interface and also the solar cells which absorb the energy needed to operate the appliance.
Each reservoir has an outlet and an inlet. The outlet is below the inlet so that if the reservoir gets full, water can continue flowing out to the general system.
The SolarVoir helps an entire community in its effort to reduce the wastage of water and in its commitment towards Grey water management. Such wonderful and easy to use gadgets could really help quicken the much-needed greywater revolution.
