Today everyone is more aware of wastage and looking for ways to contribute helping the environment and conserve water. To stop wasting so much water we now try to reuse as much as we can when we can. One popular way of doing this is to use a biodegradable washing machine detergent. This is great way to reduce the chemicals we put into the water.
Another popular practice is to reuse the waste or grey water from the washing machine for watering the garden. This is great for stopping water being wasted by going down the drain and gaining a benefit by improving your gardens irrigation.
How is this done?
This is often done by purchasing a hose water outlet extension hose from your local hardware store, then connecting it to the end of the existing washing machines outlet hose. This is the end that would normally go into the laundry sink or drain. One factor that often gets overlooked is the washing machines outlet pump, the pump is designed to lift the water a certain height, which is just above the machine so it can run into the sink. If the pump is required to do more work which is the case if it has to push it through a longer piece of hose or higher than the height of the washing machine for the longer length than the original hose it can start to over load. When this happens the pump can often fail in a short period of time.
So how do you get around this?
Following these simple tips may reduce the work load on your washing machines pump.
- Try to use an extension hose that has a larger diameter than that of the original washing machines discharge hose
- Don’t lift the extension hose up higher than the washing machine height and make sure it is only lifted once.
- When you run the hose into the garden try to have it run down hill, this will give a drain effect on the hose and reduce the washing machines pump work load
- Don’t use the hose like a hose pipe and hold it when water is coming out
- Ensure the hose is raised as high as the machine as close to the machine, if the hose is left lower than the washing machines bowl height water will just keep running out.
