Grey Water Gator Installed

After lots of research we realized that instead of installing another rainwater tank we should be recycling the water that is currently going down the drain from our washing machine. As we use Soapnuts to wash with we can safely use this water on our garden as long as we use the appropriate equipment. We learnt about a great product called a Grey Water Gator but discovered that they were not available in WA so decided to but a DIY kit and make our own.   We also ordered a 100 m soaker hose to place in the front gardens and attach to the system to maximize the benefits.

We unpacked the parts and read through the instructions, we were also  asked to provide feedback to Just Water Solutions on the instructions so that they can be improved which we though was excellent customer service.  The instructions do need improving but luckily we were able to make a call to clarify certain matters and we will be providing extensive feedback to  Just Water Solutions so that other customers can also benefit from this product.

The first steps involved assembling the pump and hoses so that it could be installed into the 240 litre garbage bin that we had purchased from a local hardware store.

Then we needed to attach more pipes and hoses, this will be placed inside the bin so that the sensor can move and know when to trigger the pump and start pumping the water out.

Here it is plumbed into the garbage bin outside the laundry wall, the filter and basket still needed to be added at this stage.

Instead of drilling a hole in the laundry wall we plumbed it into the drain outlet from the washing machine.

Here you can see the black inlet  hose and the lavender outlet hose which is the colour that needs to be used for grey water systems.

 Here you can see the filtration system  which the water from the washing machine goes through before filling the garbage bin.

 

Here is the 100 metre soaker hose that we also purchased and it was  cut into lengths and then attached to the black watering system and laid out, we will be  burying it in the mulch soon. This hose came from the Smart Water Shop and they have some great tips and information and excellent customer services as well.

 Here are the soaker hoses being lain out on the garden, they have stoppers at each end so that they can be flushed out when needed.

Here is the garden from the roof so that the lines of hoses are clear, this will save us a great deal of scheme water as in WA our 10,000 litre  rainwater tanks cannot make it through the summer.

 

Once we had tested the system by doing a load of washing we were very happy to be able to attach this sign to the tree stump in the front garden. We will keep track of our water use and will be keen to see the difference in time and water that is saved by installing this system.