This doesn't exactly qualify as gray water but when the water fills my dehumidifier I use it for watering but it is easily dumped into my washing machine.  It will sit there until I get to my laundry.  Usually a day or two.  Also, a lot of water comes out of my humidifier in the winter.  The tube drains into my washing sink.  I usually put a bucket there and when the bucket fills I dump that into my washer as well.  

I live where there are water usage restrictions. We also went quite a few months with an absolute ban on outside water usage. I scooped out my bath water for my plants for several months. I know some scoop out the bath water for flushing the toilet. This last summer it rained more, so I only had to scoop and carry a few times. I also gave away many plants. Not grey water, but I save the water that runs while I'm waiting for it to get hot to use on my house plants.

I keep a big pail in the kitchen and in the bathroom.  I've told my dh to empty them out in the yard where the ferel cats are making my lawn turn yellow.  I also use the water to water my outdoor and indoor plants.

 

       Zig

From the house its great to water the plants with or dirty dishs took save the water for some other use specially me wasing down the stove floors and counter tops and the out side use the water from the rains in a rain berial just to use on the car to watering the garden only and more use can happen just becareful and Im a real turkey with filters love it for the inside house one I don;t need mom sick again this month from me conserving and reusing it so filters kinda help you in alot of ways if you don't use a filter just be careful...

cindy

I've just started seriously recycling water, although we've always done it a little.    Yes, I keep a plastic basin in the sink to catch the drips and little splashes, or in the shower, and then I use it to flush or dump it in a bucket to water plants outside.   It's been a dry spring, so this and the rain barrel will help a lot this year.   

 My question is, does the dish soap harm plants?     I certainly wouldn't re-use water with bleach in it, but what about Palmolive or Dawn?   

ShirleyA:

 My question is, does the dish soap harm plants?     I certainly wouldn't re-use water with bleach in it, but what about Palmolive or Dawn?   

 

I have used it with no ill effects that I could tell. Even a little bleach won't hurt, as long as it's just a little. City water has chlorine in it. 

Absolutely!

I live in a dry country, and love gardening, so i always feel guilty about using fresh water in the garden (except potted plants and the veges, which get fresh water). I use water from the bath/shower to water shrubs and trees and the lawn, when possible.

I also have a 5 000 l tank, for rainwater. It's amazing how quickly it fills up during a good rainshower - and how much of the garden can be watered from that.

About soap in grey water: it shouldn't be a problem, but don't use grey water on anything planted in pots. The soap, esp washing powder, is great fo getting rid of lawn crickets.   

 I use grey water.

 

I have 2 buckets in the upstairs bathroom that I catch the water as it is heating up for a shower.

 

My downstairs bathroom is also the laundry room.

 

Since I dont' own a dryer, It is easy to access the drain tube from the washing machine.

 

I have 3 buckets in there to catch the wash water.

 

I use these to fllush the toilets with, and have been doing this for about 4 years now.   

 

I also use a wash basin and water flowers and plants with that.

We reuse as much water as possible, though different shades of "grey" get sent to different purposes.  Little drips from rinsing your fingers or a dish go into a bucket under the faucet and out to the vegetable garden ... a few suds are fine but not a lot ... around 6 gallons per day.  Bubbly dishwater goes onto the leaves of our hemlock bush, which has been waging a winning battle with wooly monmouth as the bubbles kill the larvae without adding poisons ... around 1-2 gallons per day.  Just be sure to wipe your greasy pots with a peice of scrap paper to remove as much grease as possible before washing as too much grease will damage your plants. 

Boiled water from cooking (pasta, veggies, etc.) goes into a pot with a lid until it cools in the winter (you paid to heat it ... might as well let the heat saturate into your house) and in the summer it immediately goes outside onto the brick or gravel walkway to kill weeds and ants ... around a gallon a day.  Water that was used to rinse uncooked meat or anything else too questionable to use to water our food supply gets dumped on the ornamental flowers and shrubs ... around another gallon per day. 

Our washing machine gets diverted out to the apple trees in the summer, but we use low levels of non-phosphate detergent and few added chemicals ... around 13 loads per week.  We're waiting for low-phosphate automatic dishwasher detergent to become available to do the same for the dishwasher.  I'm just waiting for an excuse to rip into the walls and add pipes to divert shower/bathwater from the bathrooms to the garden as well as that's all good decent greywater that could be used for irrigation, but unfortuantely right now everything ties into the toilet pipework and it's a major demo project.  I tried putting a bucket in to save the water, but it's just too darn heavy to lift!  Even tightwads have their limits!

Wow Cheap Yankee-that is fasicnating! I have never heard of "grey water," but judging from this blog I assume it is reused water from the inside of houses? That is hardcore recylcing-and I like your ideas the best! How much money would you say you save a month by doing just these tips alone?