Currently your bath water just drains uselessly away when you pull the plug out of the bath. However, with a flick of a switch the Augean Gutter Cleaning system will pump the water up to your roof where a series of high power nozzles power-blast it into your guttering in order to keep it clear of constantly accumulating debris. Only skilled experts should be used when installing the system however as badly calibrated or ill-directed nozzles could cause damage to the guttering that you are trying to keep clean, thus throwing the baby out with the bath water. This idea care of the Home, Sweat Home project. -- DrBob, Jan 08 2008 http://www.greywater.com/ [pertinax, Jan 08 2008] Looj http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354Robotic Gutter Cleaner with Remote Control [csea, Jan 08 2008] This is similar to real-life grey-water recycling.-- pertinax, Jan 08 2008 Well yes, re-using 'greywater' is not an original concept but it's the application that's unique (hopefully).-- DrBob, Jan 08 2008 How do you keep it out of your rainwater tanks?
I think I'd prefer it be used to flush toilets. More in keeping with the original Heraclean Labour.-- UnaBubba, Jan 08 2008 Well that would be far too sensible.-- DrBob, Jan 08 2008 where does *sweat* come into it? oh, I see. what a horrible image.-- po, Jan 08 2008 You should stay away from mirrors, [po].-- UnaBubba, Jan 08 2008 I do, I can assure you.-- po, Jan 08 2008 I just saw graywater as being something you water the lawn with, maybe pour it over the house in summer some for some evaporative-cooling effects and feed the ivy.-- FlyingToaster, Jan 08 2008 Gutters full of sticky soap scum? Bathwater into the storm drains? A graywater pump system to maintain? No, thank you. [-]-- baconbrain, Jan 08 2008 Would this work with the Contrablution idea?-- skinflaps, Jan 08 2008 It need not go into the storm drains. The water can be broadcast onto lawns and parklands,-- UnaBubba, Jan 08 2008 Long ago, I used to have to carry laundry water out of the house and dump it on the gravel driveway. My grandmother used to throw her dishwater into her yard. Both left icky messes. If a park has bathwater on it, I'm not going.
[UB], are you proposing that bathwater be pumped up into the gutters, then collected again and pumped yet again? No matter where it's sprayed, the soap will wind up in a river, unless biodegradable soap is required and the system is designed around it.-- baconbrain, Jan 08 2008 An alternative gutter cleaner [link].-- csea, Jan 08 2008 Lawns and parklands, as I said, should take care of the phosphate content, which is the bit you don't want in your rivers. It's very good fertiliser, which is why you want it away from rivers where it promotes rapid growth of adventitious plants and algae.
It has the same effect on lawns, which is why we ought broadcast it there, to promote growth of those plants on which we have previously wasted potable water, to preserve them or promote their growth.
Using the greywater to clean gutters is merely a halfway step. There is no need to channel all water from rooftop collection immediately into rivers, any more than there is a need to sequester all grey water from washing machines and showers immediately into sewers. It may be efficient in terms of collection and handling but it's very wasteful of water to assume it can only be put to one use in a usage cycle.
This way the water can be used to: 1. Wash you / your clothing / your dishes 2. Clean your gutters / roof 3. Water your lawn / garden or local parkland
Far more efficient than just :1. Wash you / your clothing / your dishes before being discarded and pumped out to sea.-- UnaBubba, Jan 08 2008 halfbakery