For this week's Earth Day, we thought we'd share a solution that shouldn't just be widely used, but that could also be an important key to the drought facing California.
One of our efforts here at Avalon Select will be to increasingly raise awareness about the need for greywater systems in a number of states struggling with water shortages. Of course this especially calls California to mind right now, but their urgent drought is just an indication of how important it is that we start looking at water conservation in general.
There are a lot of greywater systems and designs available online, and we've taken a shine to the detailed website offered by Art Ludwig, author of Create an Oasis with Greywater. Among his specific designs is one for "Laundry to Landscape," which is one of the greywater sources California is currently look at.
One of our efforts here at Avalon Select will be to increasingly raise awareness about the need for greywater systems in a number of states struggling with water shortages. Of course this especially calls California to mind right now, but their urgent drought is just an indication of how important it is that we start looking at water conservation in general.
There are a lot of greywater systems and designs available online, and we've taken a shine to the detailed website offered by Art Ludwig, author of Create an Oasis with Greywater. Among his specific designs is one for "Laundry to Landscape," which is one of the greywater sources California is currently look at.
Laundry to Landscape System from Art Ludwig. See link above.
And why not? The average family of four does at least one load of laundry per day, and even an efficient washing machine uses at least 20 gallons of water per load.
One problem: you cannot use greywater with detergent in it to water your grass and trees. Even rinse water, which is what's typically used, contains some level of detergent because clothes come out of the wash with traces of detergent still in them. (That's why you're left with a scent from the detergent.) But even if you use the rinse water, you're still throwing out a bunch of wash water that could have been used if only it was free of detergent.
Enter the magic of EcoWasher -- the system that lets you successfully do laundry without detergent ... or hot water. (It connects to your current washing machine.) Those two points alone can save a family hundreds of dollars per year. They also support the planet and family health. But in the case of states facing drought, laundry without detergent seems like a critical way to get more greywater for the lawn and trees.
Of course a lot of the water in a home can be used as greywater, and it's important to look to additional greywater solutions. But we think that one greywater system California should look to immediately is this option of "laundry to landscape" in conjunction with EcoWasher in order to dump relatively clean water into the environment. (Just sullied by the laundry.)
See, EcoWasher uses ozone to clean -- sure, a "no no" in California when it's airborne, but a great idea in water systems. Ozone is used in hospital and hotel laundry systems, and in the food industry to clean and disinfect foods. It's very powerful, yet it converts back to oxygen in the water in 15-30 minutes. We've used it for years to clean our own laundry. Now it's California's turn so it can face this looming problem of drought.
One problem: you cannot use greywater with detergent in it to water your grass and trees. Even rinse water, which is what's typically used, contains some level of detergent because clothes come out of the wash with traces of detergent still in them. (That's why you're left with a scent from the detergent.) But even if you use the rinse water, you're still throwing out a bunch of wash water that could have been used if only it was free of detergent.
Enter the magic of EcoWasher -- the system that lets you successfully do laundry without detergent ... or hot water. (It connects to your current washing machine.) Those two points alone can save a family hundreds of dollars per year. They also support the planet and family health. But in the case of states facing drought, laundry without detergent seems like a critical way to get more greywater for the lawn and trees.
Of course a lot of the water in a home can be used as greywater, and it's important to look to additional greywater solutions. But we think that one greywater system California should look to immediately is this option of "laundry to landscape" in conjunction with EcoWasher in order to dump relatively clean water into the environment. (Just sullied by the laundry.)
See, EcoWasher uses ozone to clean -- sure, a "no no" in California when it's airborne, but a great idea in water systems. Ozone is used in hospital and hotel laundry systems, and in the food industry to clean and disinfect foods. It's very powerful, yet it converts back to oxygen in the water in 15-30 minutes. We've used it for years to clean our own laundry. Now it's California's turn so it can face this looming problem of drought.
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