ReWater has been in the greywater irrigation business for over three decades. We’ve seen over and over that the three factors discussed below ruin virtually all retrofit/remodel possibilities.
#1. Greywater pipes can only be cost-effectively arranged during new construction.
- As seen in this picture of a new residence under construction, shower, tub, and bathroom sink drains are connected to toilet pipes within a few feet during the original construction. These pipes are then buried in concrete and under dirt and are virtually impossible to access after construction.
- If Greywater wasn’t separated during construction, the plumbing is always wrong for greywater reuse.
- Pipes carrying greywater in existing slab floors can never be tapped without cutting the slab, an extremely expensive endeavor.
- Greywater originating upstairs is invariably combined with toilet water before the pipe comes down the wall, rendering it all sewage.
- Finally, the laundry drain is usually far from showers, making it costly to capture both these key sources of greywater. By itself, laundry is only 25% of your greywater.
#2. Most existing homes already have a viable irrigation system.
- It’s not legal, smart, or practical to retrofit greywater into an existing irrigation system. It’ll just make a smelly mess and eventually clog every type of existing irrigation system.
- Even if you can capture enough greywater to justify the effort, you probably won’t want to buy another irrigation system if your system already works.
- Finally, even if you can capture enough and you’re willing to buy a new irrigation system, established landscapes have to be torn up to install the underground drip irrigation required by law for greywater.
#3. Homeowners who try to retrofit a greywater irrigation system themselves need a lot of help.
- Homeowners usually aren’t plumbers, and you’ll nee a lot of plumbing skills to rearrange the plumbing inside your home.
- You’re probably not a landscape and irrigation expert either, and you’ll need those skills outside your home.
- Without both sets of skills, homeowners repeatedly make simple but costly mistakes.
- The amount of technical support required to help non-professionals correctly install both the filter system and the irrigation system is prohibitive. it is an unfortunate truth.
