So I feel dumb

[neverrain]

Finally bought an RO/DI filter so I could make my own water. Got tired of buying/hauling 5-10 gallons of water per week to keep the top off full and do 2 water changes a week.

 

I had never once, through everything I've read on these forums, anywhere, or seen it mentioned that the unit produces waste water at roughly a 3 to 1 ratio. I always thought the bad crap stayed in the filters. Me = dumb.

 

BTW, it literally looks like urine. I drink my tap water too, because it actually tastes filtered. And this is in an area where I would expect the tap water to be half decent.

 

 

 

[Nano sapiens]

Nasty! What is the TDS of your tap water?

[FlowerMama]

yuck, I never checked the color of mine, ours is low anyway, unfiltered it registers like 36, Asheville has some of the cleanest water, just coming down the mountains into the watershed. They don't have treatment facilities like I've seen in Illinois when I lived there growing up.

[hey]

Finally bought an RO/DI filter so I could make my own water. Got tired of buying/hauling 5-10 gallons of water per week to keep the top off full and do 2 water changes a week.

 

I had never once, through everything I've read on these forums, anywhere, or seen it mentioned that the unit produces waste water at roughly a 3 to 1 ratio. I always thought the bad crap stayed in the filters. Me = dumb.

 

BTW, it literally looks like urine. I drink my tap water too, because it actually tastes filtered. And this is in an area where I would expect the tap water to be half decent.

 

 

Well technically your not drinking water that polluted, that is concentrated bad from your tapwater... so if you are getting a 3 to 1 ratio 1 cup of that pee water is the same as 3 cups out the tap. Honestly my rejection rate is way higher though.

[Builder Anthony]

Yikes.....I need to get a water system.I drink a lot of tap water.

 

Kind of funny your still hauling a bucket around.maybe hook it to fill your toilet.

[Dramad1]

My ratio is 4:1. Yikes on the yellow bucket. What kind of ro/di unit did you pick up? Curious what your tap tds is also for your waste to be that yellow. Thats Crazy to me. Makes me want to see what color mine is, never looked before as I have the waste line hooked to my washer drain.

I had a guy at work tell me to hook my waste line to an outside source and not run it down my houses plumbing as it will cause algae and other crap to grow in my pipes. This is the first time I have heard this, anyone chime in about this?

[neverrain]

I haven't gotten a TDS meter yet. I will soon though. And that was the first bucket, the second was WAY less yellow, so I guess it was the filters just warming up. The kit I got says to run about 10 gallons through it before actually using it (which I'm guessing is standard).

 

FYI, I live in an apartment, so mine is hooked up to the laundry line (which was also my first venture in plumbing - whole different story). I don't have the option of running it outside. The pipes have problems, it's not my problem.

 

Well technically your not drinking water that polluted, that is concentrated bad from your tapwater... so if you are getting a 3 to 1 ratio 1 cup of that pee water is the same as 3 cups out the tap. Honestly my rejection rate is way higher though.

 

I actually get 3 cups of the yellow to 1 cup of the clean. Roughly. Took about 40 minutes to fill up the waste bucket with a 150 GPD unit. Not terrible.

 

This is filling up the waste for the 3rd time (I dumped the first bucket of clean too).

 

yuck, I never checked the color of mine, ours is low anyway, unfiltered it registers like 36, Asheville has some of the cleanest water, just coming down the mountains into the watershed. They don't have treatment facilities like I've seen in Illinois when I lived there growing up.

 

I have to figure mine does too, I'm not far from the Cascades and it rains enough that the water has a consistent source. I'm going to order a TDS meter eventually, I'm curious where my tap is.

[StevieT]

Can't you hook the waste line to go down the laundry drain?

[neverrain]

Can't you hook the waste line to go down the laundry drain?

 

The directions I got with the unit seem to indicate that the drain is a pipe that I would need to tap into to do so. Is that not the case?

[StevieT]

A laundry drain usually is just an open vertical pipe in the wall. There should be a black flexible drain hose from your washer going into the top of a pvc pipe. Stick your waste hose in that pipe.

 

 

The directions I got with the unit seem to indicate that the drain is a pipe that I would need to tap into to do so. Is that not the case?

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&hl=en&site=webhp&tbm=isch&source=hp&ei=KmsoVO6KFoWEyQSZ_IHABw&q=laundry+drain&oq=laundry+drain&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.3..0l5.2207.5305.0.5554.16.15.0.8.8.0.207.1287.8j4j1.13.0....0...1c.1.54.mobile-gws-hp..3.13.559.0.wN4zhE0Zzr0#facrc=_&imgrc=aM33rdu4i9bODM%253A%3BgDzwrJW14aoFjM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.doityourself.com%252Fforum%252Fattachments%252Fplumbing-piping%252F4327d1350175606-washing-machine-drain-2-machines-into-1-drain-37541d1317825496-plumbing-washer-vent-waste-discharge-washer-installation.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.doityourself.com%252Fforum%252Fplumbing-piping%252F479951-washing-machine-drain-2-machines-into-1-drain.html%3B400%3B320

 

[neverrain]

Mine actually just has the flexible tube running to the wall. I probably shouldn't tap that right?

[StevieT]

No but follow the black tube to find the drain.

[neverrain]

The tube comes out of the washer and goes straight into the wall, I would have to tap the tube or drill the wall to get to where it leads unfortunately. If it was my own house I would make more of an effort to make this "permanent".

[StevieT]

Makes no real sense since you are supposed to replace all hoses every few years. Unless you can still do that.

 

Not that I don't believe you. If you want to tickle my fancy take a pic of it.

[neverrain]

Ask and ye shall receive - forgive me for not pulling it out, it's annoying with the carpet seam. Though after seeing your response, I found that the part leading into the wall can be pulled up without issue, and the pipe appears to taper off where it goes down, which makes me think it looks like your picture above behind the box. I'm buddies with the maintenance guy here, so I'll call him tomorrow and verify. If it does, ill just run it there and tape it off.

 

From washer:

 

 

To wall:

 

[StevieT]

Cool thanks. The second one was what I was wondering and that is correct. Can you get that 1/4" waste tube next to the black washer waste tube? That is the drain, jam it in there if possible.

 

Nice work on the supply

[neverrain]

Cool thanks. The second one was what I was wondering and that is correct. Can you get that 1/4" waste tube next to the black washer waste tube? That is the drain, jam it in there if possible.

 

Nice work on the supply

 

I can yea. The black tube is loose in there, so I can just tape (or whatever) the waste tube in there.

 

Thanks, I had to widen it on each side to get it to fit with the laundry line, from 1/2" to 3/4 inch. Was a pain the ass. Put it all together, it leaked, then I realized I needed teflon tape. Then it leaked. Then I realized I needed to REALLY tighten them, which I was afraid of because I thought it would break. But in the end, I prevailed.