On Nov 28, 8:48�am, Claude Hopper
wrote:
Sheldon wrote:
"Twice Retired" wrote:
bstev writes:

Over the next few months we're building a new house in a rural area on
25 acres. The 410 foot well is terrific, but the water has a slight
salty taste which apparently is sodium, so we'll have an undersink
reverse osmosis filter for drinking/cooking water, with a sideline
running over to the water dispenser/icemaker in the fridge.
My problem is that RO filters produce about 8 parts waste water for
every 1 part of drinking water. This water is normally routed out to
the drain pipe, which in our case would go to the septic tank. This is
a significant amount of water; for every cup of water you drink from
the RO filter faucet, 8 cups goes down the drain.
Is there SOME way to reroute this RO waste water away from the septic
system? I hate to think of it all going in there. I guess you could
just run a small pvc pipe from under the sink to the yard somewhere,
but that seems kind of ugly-looking. We don't want it going in right
next to the house because it could cause eventual problems with the
foundation.
Please reply to the newsgroup.
Have you checked w/county/state? Many areas have outlawed the old fashioned
septic tank/leach field in favor of aeration systems. I built in rural area
15 years ago and septics were forbidden then. The water from the system is
chorine treated and animals and birds enjoy it. County checks on a random
basis for purity of discharge

Who gives a rat's b-hind... no under sink sized RO is capable of
producing more than a dozen gallons of grey water, maximum... if your
septic can't handle an extra dozen gallons of water a day then you
better ban bathing. �There are indeed RO systems that are used
commercially that can process more water but no one is going to need
such a system for the quantity of filtered water consumed at home.

I've had an RO system for years, it's very rare that I use more than 2
gallons of RO filtered water a day, most days nearer a gallon... each
gallon of RO filtered water produces four gallons of grey water.... I
dump more than that into my septic every day all summer just from two
dehumidifiers. �I suppose I could haul that water out into the yard
but what can I say, with some things I'm lazy, the kitchen sink is
closer and I don't like to make it a habit of opening the door during
A/C season. �Btw, water in of itself doesn't harm or place any undue
load on septic systems, only solids and chemical laden water does,
detergents and soaps from washing clothes, dishes, bathing is what
taxes septics... in fact running lots of plain water into a septic
system is the best way to keep it healthy... RO and dehumidifier grey
water is plain water, it can't harm your septic, it's actually
medicine for your septic, it helps dilute and flush out the solids and
chemicals. �Folks who are stingy with how much plain water they put
into septics are those who have septic problems most often.

Seems many of yoose have no idea how little water is associated with
an RO filter. �I use mine first thing each morning to brew a pot of
coffee, I refill like two ice cube trays each day, and I drink maybe
two liters a day... I use some small amount for cooking too, but only
if it becomes part of the dish like with rice, not for draining like
with pasta.

No undersink RO filter produces enough water to have any effect
whatsoever on a septic system... most folks pee more.

The real reason folks are averse to installing an RO is because they
are too cheap to spend a couple hundred bucks to buy the equipment and
no other reason whatsover.... tell their wives ugh, uses too much
water, when in fact it cuts into their boozing bucks. �Now if only
someone can design an RO where you pump in water and out comes
Budweiser...

It's not really grey water It just has a higher concentration of the
impurities you are filtering out. You could drink it, spread it on your
lawn or wash your car or laundry with it. It's clear, clean water.

It certainly is grey water... sure you can use it to water plants,
even to hose off a filthy car (but it will spot badly) and you'd need
to save a bunch over a long period to accumulate a volume worth teh
effort. But it's not advised to drink the grey water from RO filters,
besides tasting rather foul that water is typically bacteria laden...
RO filters have a lifespan of about ten years... the input side of the
membrane becomes rather filthy.

You could also boil and distill it.

You can also distill your ****... do you have any idea what it would
cost in energy consumption... you are truly brain dead.