Water Recycling System

It's raining here in Melbourne which is terrific because it means the garden's getting a soaking

In fact it's been raining here quite a bit lately and it's been falling in the catchment areas that feed Melbourne. They're now just over 35 percent full, the highest they've been in well over a year.

Anyway, despite the past dry conditions and Stage 3-A water restrictions, our garden's not doing too badly because we have water tanks and this. It may look like a large bucket to you, to us here at Number 10, it's our water recycling system

The washing machine outlet pipe is connected to the pipe above the bucket and all the washing machine water empties into it

The bucket has a hose connection with two hoses attached and they are placed in the yard to empty out onto the grass or shrubs.

It's a pretty good system if you have an old house and you want a simple way of getting the washing machine water into the garden without having to syphon it out of the machine into buckets then carry them around the garden. Oh, it also means you have to be careful what washing powder you use too. I buy one that's made in New Zealand. It's by Eco-Store and I just get it at the supermarket. It's a plant and mineral based powder that has no phosphates, ammonia, nitrates, chlorine or perfumes. Perfect... and I haven't had a fatality in the garden yet!