Rodi waste water

[intyme]

Who has there RODI system above the washing machine, and has the wastewater dump into the washing machine? I've read on here that this could cause a flood, but wouldn't the overflow of the rodi run down the drain of the washing machine ?

[slief]

I set one up at my friends house that drains down the washing machine drain. He makes upwards of 300 gallons of DI water a week and hasn't had an issue. I can't imagine there is any more risk of flooding from the RODI waste line than the washer line. Especially when you can shove the 1/4" RODI waste line as far down the drain as you want unlike the washer line.

[DaveRaz]

mine also runs out the washing machine drain.

[jonwright]

Mine as well. No problems assuming the drain is ok to begin with.

[devildog12210]

Mine is there as well. Been that way for years.

[immortl]

Slow down, read and comprehend the post. The OP is talking about running the waste water into the washing machine itself, NOT the drain. At least that's my understanding. No offense intended to others who posted responses, this is just a pet peeve of mine. People skim and jump to conclusions without fully understanding what it being asked or said. I see it all the time with my job in IT and it drives me nuts.

Theoretically, you could fill the washer to overflowing I believe. There is a pump that drains the washing machine, it's not an overflow setup to the drain.

That said, I often drain my pre water (first few minutes of RODI during TDS creep) into the washing machine. I don't make tremendous volumes at once and never end up with more than a few inches of water in it. It works for me. The waste water, like many others, is routed to the washer room drain at all times.

Thanks,
Joe

[intyme]

Yes, the waste line would be sitting in the machine, not down the drain. We pay for water so I would like to save it for our clothes.

[intyme]

Thanks joe for clearing that up. :)

[Im14abeer]

That's what I do, and yes, if you forget about it, it will overflow the washer. I always try to remember to set the oven timer to avoid that. I can't stand the thought of wasting all that perfectly good water that I've paid for.

[fizzlefish]

This is interesting. I have been wondering what i could do with the waste water as well. Since i go through SO MUCH. Would the waste water be worse on the clothing? Are there other uses as well?

[intyme]

That's what I do, and yes, if you forget about it, it will overflow the washer. I always try to remember to set the oven timer to avoid that. I can't stand the thought of wasting all that perfectly good water that I've paid for.


Yes, I was wondering. Right now I store my waste in a brute trash can. Then carry it up the stairs to dump it in the machine. Such a PITA

[outssider]

I save mine in 5 gal buckets and use in washer.

[kmbyrnes]

:deadhorse1:
These threads pop up from time to time and I wonder if people are focusing their energy in the right direction.
If you are into conservation, I can understand wanting to re-use the water.
But you should do the math and figure out how much $$ you are saving and weigh that against the effort you exert to repurpose it.
If it's as simple as watering your garden with an extended drain line, that is one thing. But if you are lugging 5 gallon buckets up the stairs to fill your washer .......
I track both my water and electric use because I had heard how expensive the utilities were for this hobby.

I made a huge mistake last year by draining and refilling my 17k gallon pool last February, which boosted my sewer rates by $10 month until this coming April.
That said, my water/sewage bill for February 2015 was $64.66 for 6k gallons of water for my entire household use.
That works out to 1.07 cents per gallon. I use about 200 gallons of RO/DI water a month for all my tanks. If you use the 4:1 ratio of RODI to waste, that comes to 1000 gallons -$10.78 for all my Fish water for one month.

Unless you pay outrageously for your water, you are saving maybe $8 month.
Even in Atlanta, which in 2013 had the highest average cost for water usage, you would be 'draining' just over $25.
The $8 and change that went down the drain wouldn't even buy me a frag.

[RDM]

I put the waste RO in a 5 gallon bucket that the wife uses to water her plants. If the bucket is full the rest goes down the drain.

[anbosu]

:deadhorse1:
These threads pop up from time to time and I wonder if people are focusing their energy in the right direction.
If you are into conservation, I can understand wanting to re-use the water.
But you should do the math and figure out how much $$ you are saving and weigh that against the effort you exert to repurpose it.
If it's as simple as watering your garden with an extended drain line, that is one thing. But if you are lugging 5 gallon buckets up the stairs to fill your washer .......
I track both my water and electric use because I had heard how expensive the utilities were for this hobby.

I made a huge mistake last year by draining and refilling my 17k gallon pool last February, which boosted my sewer rates by $10 month until this coming April.
That said, my water/sewage bill for February 2015 was $64.66 for 6k gallons of water for my entire household use.
That works out to 1.07 cents per gallon. I use about 200 gallons of RO/DI water a month for all my tanks. If you use the 4:1 ratio of RODI to waste, that comes to 1000 gallons -$10.78 for all my Fish water for one month.

Unless you pay outrageously for your water, you are saving maybe $8 month.
Even in Atlanta, which in 2013 had the highest average cost for water usage, you would be 'draining' just over $25.
The $8 and change that went down the drain wouldn't even buy me a frag.

Exactly. My waste water line runs underneath my garage door and waters my lawn. All impurities in the water are going to be concentrated in the waste water, so I would imagine your clothes aren't going to get as clean.

[insteng]

I put the waste RO in a 5 gallon bucket that the wife uses to water her plants. If the bucket is full the rest goes down the drain.

I do the same thing.

[intyme]

Everyone is getting off topic, if you read the question it's not about price per gallon, or lugging buckets ect. It's about putting a waste line into a washing machine and wondering if it will overflow or just go into an overflow drain and out! That's all....

[ZeeSparrow]

The original question of using it to fill a washer was answered, but I don't think they're getting off topic since the topic is "Rodi waste water".... and fizzlefish asked if there are other uses.

I am curious how much RODI you get if you run the line into the washer, before you run the risk of overflowing it?

[dkeller_nc]

Everyone is getting off topic, if you read the question it's not about price per gallon, or lugging buckets ect. It's about putting a waste line into a washing machine and wondering if it will overflow or just go into an overflow drain and out! That's all....

Yes, almost all residential washing machines will overflow, as most of them don't have an emergency overflow drain. I hesitate to say "all", because it wouldn't shock me that some manufacturer or other has a gravity overflow prevention drain. It'd be easy to tell since the machine would have two drains - one that's plumbed into the centrifugal drain pump, the other plumbed to a overflow at the top of the outer tub.

If you're determined, you could fix this issue and still use the RODI waste in the washing machine - you'd need to install a 60 gallon or so "tall tank" waste container next to the machine, either sited so that you could use gravity to drain the water out of the waste tank to your washing machine, or use a sump pump in the waste water. You'd need to set up a float level switch in the waste tank so that when it fills up, the water's diverted to the washing machine drain. I don't have an example, but I'm pretty sure you could get a 2-way float valve that would accomplish this without electricity.

If you live in the East, washing clothes with RODI waste will not have an affect on the cleanliness of the clothes, as generally speaking, the water in the Eastern US has a low TDS, so the RODI waste won't have an appreciably elevated dissolved mineral content.

I'd think this would also be true in the Western US, since with a 4:1 waste to RODI output ratio, you're only concentrating the dissolved minerals by 5/4, or 25%. So if your input TDS is 500 ppm, the waste would be at 625 ppm, and most laundry detergents have sufficient softeners in the formulation to ensure good detergency regardless of the hardness of the water, at least within reason.