Can water from Rain Harvester be used for showers?

E

eire1977

Registered User
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Thinking of putting in a rain water harvester but just wondering if there are any reasons why this water (once filtered) cannot be used for showering in, instead of just loo's, washing machine and dishwasher
 
The water will need to be treated to kill off any harmfull bacteria... bird droppings etc and possible stagnation problems.
 
The ultra violet process is used to treat water supplies therefore it will treat stored water as well.
The best approach would be to call water treatment specialists and find out if they have any equipment for treating stored rainwater and also eliminate stagnation problems.
 
When we were kids we used to get bath water our of a barrel under the down pipe, There was even the odd snail in the barrel, it never did anyone any harm
 
I will agree to differ, it didn't do you any harm, but that's not to say it didn't kill people
My better half is a water micro specialist, when I mentioned she just shook her head and slowly said nooooooooo......thats enough for me!
 
I won't dispute you, but I would be interested to know what the problems is, after all people wash in rivers and you may not get a good reading on technical equipment
 
The problem is bacteria, lol, most of them she talks about I couldn't spell!
 
DGOBS said:
The problem is bacteria, lol, most of them she talks about I couldn't spell!
Click to expand...

DGOBS - can you ask your sister what would need to be done to treat the water so it could be used for showers/baths? Would UV light kill any or most of the bacteria? Would Reverse Osmosis filter out the nasties?
 
Firstly, it's my wife!

The main concern is the water has to potable, and the level of contamination would
have to be found to match the treatment, such as chlorine, uv, whatever, but it can
be done.

Lots of concerns would be, bird poo (from the roof) what is lying in gutter rotting etc.
But the quality and treatment of the water would be up to the individual
 
DGOBS said:
Firstly, it's my wife!
Click to expand...

Sorry!!


Thanks for the feedback. Not as simple as I had hoped.
With the way my plumbing system is set up, only a few modifications would have been needed to add in a rain harvester system.
This has added a curve ball but better I find out now rather than later.
 
Have you considered a grey water system where you just use the rainwater to flush toilets, water the garden and wash the car etc?

I wouldn't use rainwater for showers etc for many reasons not least being that children in showers/baths have a tendency to ingest the water. Also water collected from a roof could contain contaminants which might not be good for your skin or to inhale the aerosol produced by modern showers.
 
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