How to Recycle Your Sink & Bath Water

Used water from the bath and bathroom sink -- called graywater -- often contains soap and dirt, rendering it unsuitable for drinking and cooking. On average, each person uses 40 gallons of graywater per day. Though some conservationists recycle by using one bath for multiple family members, for example, most find such practices unacceptable. There are several ways to reuse sink and bath water without sacrificing personal hygiene and health.

Instructions

- 1
  Irrigate inedible landscape plants and grass with cool water saved from the bathroom sink or tub. Graywater has not been shown to harm plants and often contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, which benefit plants.
- 2
  Wash cars, boats and house exteriors with graywater. Graywater typically contains a minimal amount of dirt, which won't adversely affect the cleaning job. Because cleaning these objects requires soap anyway, the extra soap in the water won't do any harm. Use graywater for washing and fresh water for rinsing.
- 3
  Install a graywater recycling system in your home to pump graywater from baths and sinks into the toilet. Alternately, install a low-flow or waterless toilet and manually pour graywater into the toilet tank for flushing. This will cut down on or eliminate water wasted through toilet use.

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