Reverse Osmosis Waste Water: Too Much? Simple Ways to Reduce It!

Okay, so I’ve been meaning to tackle this whole “reverse osmosis system waste water” thing for a while now. We got a fancy RO Reverse Osmosis Waste Water system installed a few months back, and while the drinking water is great, I couldn’t help but notice how much water was just going down the drain during the process. It felt super wasteful, and I figured there had to be a better way to deal with it.

Figuring Out the Waste

First, I wanted to get a handle on just how much water was being wasted. I did some digging online, and most sources said that for every gallon of purified water, standard RO Reverse Osmosis Waste Water systems could waste anywhere from 3 to 5 gallons! Some even more! That seemed insane. I grabbed a bucket and stuck the waste water line in it. Let it run for an hour while it was filtering. Turns out, my Reverse Osmosis Waste Water system seems to be around that 4:1 ratio. Four gallons wasted for every one gallon of good water.

Brainstorming Uses

So, what to do with all this “waste” water? It’s not exactly dirty, just high in minerals and the stuff the RO filter rejects. Here’s what I came up with after some brainstorming and googling:

• Watering Plants (Some of them): I read that some plants actually like the mineral-rich water. Not all of them, though! So, I started experimenting.
• Flushing Toilets: Seemed like a no-brainer. Use the waste water to refill the toilet tank.
• Cleaning: Washing the car, mopping floors, cleaning the patio – this water seemed perfectly fine for those tasks.

Putting it into Practice

I started simple. I grabbed some old buckets and just started collecting the waste water. I used one bucket for the plants that I knew could handle the minerals (my succulents seem to love it!). Another bucket I kept near the toilet for manual flushing – just pour it in the bowl after you go. It works fine for a while.

The cleaning part was easy. I just used the collected water instead of turning on the hose. My car has never been cleaner!

The Toilet Tank Solution (More Advanced!)

The bucket-by-the-toilet thing was okay, but a little clunky. I wanted something more…automatic. After some more research, I found some people were actually plumbing the RO Reverse Osmosis Waste Water line directly into the toilet tank!

Important Note: It seems to me that the key here is to make sure the waste line goes into the tank, not the bowl, and that you have a check valve to prevent backflow. If there are no water, that means the water will be finished.

This is where I’m at now. It’s working! My toilet tank is filling up with the RO waste water, significantly reducing my overall water usage. It is pretty great!

Still to Do

I’m still figuring out the best plants for the Reverse Osmosis waste water. It’s a bit of trial and error. Also, I want to get a bigger holding tank for the waste water, so I have more on hand for cleaning and other uses.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how much less water I’m wasting now. It’s not perfect, but it’s a big improvement! It feels good to be doing something a little bit more sustainable, even if it’s just in my own small way.