Wastewater

[Sk8r]

Wastewater washes clothes just fine. It also mops floors, waters flowers...there's no reason you can't drink it, except that over time a ro/di unit probably doesn't meet city water sanitation standards. Back when I lived in an apartment I ran a tube from the ro/di straight over to the washing machine. Wouldn't totally fill it, but it'd cut down on how much water the machine had to add.

 

[Gundo5000]

Mine goes down a drain although Ive been tring to find a better way to be less wasteful, good thread!

 

[Jscwerve]

Huh,

This whole time I was thinking the saltwater removed for water change, not the RO waste!

Definitely going to try using it in the garden.

 

[prop-frags]

Good thread!
In my neighborhood, the drain out on the street empties into a nearby reservoir. Not a good place to dump water change leftovers! Please ensure that you know where a drain leads to before you dump anything from your tank - especially since it could allow algae or other invasive species out to rivers, lakes, oceans...

I always put water change waste into the sewer. This thread inspires me to engineer a better use for RO brine though...

 

[alexkharden]

Well, my water treatment facility is actually less than a mile from my house, so I know where my water goes at least. I don't do much in the way of plant/lawn watering, so really have no use for any of it. I thought about using the ro extra to fill the dog water bowls, but if anything ever happened to them my wife would think I poisoned them. At this point down the drain is my best option.

 

[A1t2o]

I was thinking about pouring some out on my sidewalk for when it snows. Would this work or am I just putting more water than salt down? I would only do this for the layer of salt to prevent ice, and for the sleet we are supposed to get today.

 

[alexkharden]

It would probably be more water than salt, but it might work. Especially if you did it immediately after a wc, while it was still warm. The warmth would melt the ice, and the salt might keep it from refreezing.

 

[A1t2o]

I was hoping the water would evaporate and leave a layer of salt just enough to keep it from getting too slippery.

 

[Silly clownfish]

RO wastewater can be used for watering plants, laundry, human bathing, etc.

Water change water (salt water) should never be poured in a storm drain - storm drains go straight to local creeks and reservoirs in almost all communities these days and you do not want excess salt going into natural systems. The salt that washes off of roads in the winter degrade water quality as it is. Don't add to this for no reason. Also, do not use for watering plants. Some shore plants can tolerate salt, but most can't and salt accumulates in soil.

I think using it on your driveway would be similar to road crews spraying brine on highways before snow storms. I would be curious to hear how it works if you wet your driveway and give it a little time to dry before precipitation starts.

Btw, I am a civil engineer specializing in water resources.

Kim

 

[jamie1981]

Pouring any water from an aquarium into a storm drain or the street is about the worst place you can dump it most lead directly to local streams or rivers, probably not even legal in most places to do. Just dump it down the toilet or drain that goes to a wastewater treatment plant for proper handling.

How do you think non native and/or evasive plants and animals get spread around? Some have destroyed local lakes and ponds.

Ulva Lettuce Algae is a perfect example of this. Were I'm at there is a growing problem with Ulva lettuce in the Mississippi River it is choking out native plants and they think it was introduced through people with aquariums dumping it outside.

 

[jamie1981]

So please do not dump aquairum water outside!

 

[jamie1981]

I carry 5 gallon buckets down t0 the curb and dump to go into the sewer

That's not the sewer system where your dumping it, probably runs directly to the gully by your house.

Please dump it into your toilet.

 

[jbm421]

Ok so just my .02 cents here but wouldn't RO waste water still be cleaner than city water? My friend uses it for all kinds of things the washer, freshwater tank, plants etc. the water is still going through all the filters and it's not hitting the DI so I am just wondering why it wouldn't be considered filtered water? lol maybe I am having a dummy moment just not understanding how drinking RO waste water could be any worse than drinking from the tap as your not adding anything to it an it is still going through filters....

 

[alexkharden]

I'm also a newbie, but it seems to me that the ro wastewater would have I higher tds concentration than normal tap water. So, not cleaner or dirtier, per se, but...thicker maybe, lol.

 

[jbm421]

I'm also a newbie, but it seems to me that the ro wastewater would have I higher tds concentration than normal tap water. So, not cleaner or dirtier, per se, but...thicker maybe, lol.

Well I would think that it would be cleaner being that it is going through carbon and sediment would it not?

 

[alexkharden]

I thought the way it worked was it goes through the filter and then splits into two streams, the pure water that goes into your tank, and all of the crap the filter separated out of the original water. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, please.

 

[jbm421]

It goes through the pre filters the membrane and then the DI depending on the unit and or membrane you get 1 gallon of Rodi and waste up to 4 gallons some have a 1 to 3, 1 to 2 and a 1 to 1 waste ratio.
Also temperature and pressure play a role in this as well. Oh and yes a good water and a waste water line.

 

[alexkharden]

So would less pressure be better, so it has more time to filter? Like maybe putting a valve in line before the filter to knock down the pressure?

 

[jbm421]

No you want higher pressure at least 50 to 60 psi lower and you need a booster pump but even with that psi a booster pump makes it more efficient

 

[jamie1981]

Ok so just my .02 cents here but wouldn't RO waste water still be cleaner than city water? My friend uses it for all kinds of things the washer, freshwater tank, plants etc. the water is still going through all the filters and it's not hitting the DI so I am just wondering why it wouldn't be considered filtered water? lol maybe I am having a dummy moment just not understanding how drinking RO waste water could be any worse than drinking from the tap as your not adding anything to it an it is still going through filters....

Yes it would be cleaner than your tap water because it has been filtered by 3 stages of filtration already. Typically 2 sediment and carbon filter so the water would be as clean as any fridge filter would produce. The only stuff in the wastewater would be what the membrane rejects which goes right through most basic drinking water systems that are not RO based....which most are not.