What do you do with your gray water?

[ScottBailey]

Started in this thread: [thread=1600]Roosevelt Lake[/thread]

Here is a picture of our gray tank in action:

Our gray is fairly "clean": just a bit of biodegradable soap and a small amount of food waste. Usually I pile a couple rocks and use a 6" hose to keep myself from stepping in mud, potentially walking through "spray", and keep the side of the camper cleaner.

Going forward, I intend to collect the gray for "dead out" fires.

What do you guys do, if anything, to collect gray and how do you dispose of it?

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

...following Scott's lead...

[moved from the trip report thread]

We've always used a giant economy sized detergent bottle. As the outside starts looking shopworn, we junk it and replace it with the next one from the laundry room. I think it's 2-1/2 gal.

Like Scott, we dump it in the fire ring or water the side of the road with it.

Watering the side of the road, even with run-off from washing ones car, is becoming forbidden by law in many places. That makes this thread interesting...

 

[SunMan]

Although I have a water tank and sink I never really use the sink and never carry the hose. My gray water consists of a minimal amount of dishwater (probably less than a quart or two per day depending on what is cooked or how long i stay in a particular place).

I have two tupperware dish pans one for washing and one for rinsing and use castile soap with minimal water. Most of my meals go straight from grill to plate so we're talking wash/rinse a plate or two and some silverware. All plates/utensils are wiped with a paper towel before washing to minimize food waste. Skillets/pan are cast iron and are never washed, just cooked off in the fire. What little gray water i have goes into the fire, occasionally a brushy area away from camp if for some reason there was no fire.

Also, I generally camp alone or with the GF at the most and consider us to be very low impact.

 

[craig333]

I'm pretty much like sunman. I create very little grey water. I usually just let it run out on the ground. I haven't yet had a problem with that. I carry a small white hose in the propane compartment if I need to direct it away.

 

[terrisjoy]

I never have gray water because I let my dogs clean up after I eat!! It's a joke........ Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families... Terri

 

[EdoHart]

Very little gray water here too.

I too, generate very little gray water. Cleaning dishes usually consists of a little water, followed with scotch bright (aka green scratchy pad) and a rinse from a spray bottle which has only had water in it. Sometimes I include a few drops of Dawn dish cleaning detergent and water to clean the greasy stuff, but that is rare. I do use a few paper towels during the process and if they don't go into the camp fire, they go into the garbage bag.

When I return home I usually take all the camping cook gear in the house for a good cleaning in the sink.

I do have a collapsible 5 gallon water bag that I can put the drain hose into if needed, but I usually let it drain to the ground (I figure food particles and water won't harm the environment).

During my most recent 8 day trip I used about 13 gallons of water for me and 3 dogs, but I also had about 6 liters of fruit juice, V8 juice, etc. and I drank all of the juices by the end of the 8th day.

 

[masterplumber]

Like most of you we use the minimal amount of water possible. If camped in a remote area which is the majority of our camping I just dump it in the brush - only use a small amount of biodegradable soap as needed. Some times we camp in a developed campground so we can take a shower etc... - makes the wife a much happier camperFor those times I have what used to be called a camp bucket - basically a collapsible 5 gallon container that expands itself as it fills up - when we leave I dump it in the campground RV dump if they have one - otherwise it goes down the toilet.

BTW Sunman - I thought I was the only one crazy enough to carry cast iron in my FWC. I love cooking with it!

Doug

 

[Puffins]

We do the same as MP, carry a collapsible container with a hose connection. It goes to the gray water dump, sewer, etc.

My RV living in-laws told me the other day of a guy getting a several hundred dollar fine for allowing gray water to spill in a seaside campground

Also we wouldn't leave home with out some cast iron

 

[Mark W. Ingalls]

My RV living in-laws told me the other day of a guy getting a several hundred dollar fine for allowing gray water to spill in a seaside campground

To avoid all appearance of impropriety I am considering the option to route my grey water to an onboard container.

Here is a link to Dave Johnson's website showing how he did it... Utilities

 

[craig333]

Cast iron is nice. I used to bring it camping in my old camper. But do to weight and space considerations I went with a nice aluminum set that stacks into a very small space.

One thing I do is bring tortillas. Toss the eggs and sausage (and whatever else I have) in the tortilla, instant breakfast burrrito and no need for a plate. Little things like that help save on clean up.

 

[Jack]

We have had cats for years, and will again. Which means we have oodles of Kitty litter buckets. They make great grey water containers (33lb Scoop Away from Costco). Punch a small hole in the lid and you've got it. We take a second bucket and slip it into the first and that is a fresh water or mussel or chanterelle collecting bucket. Sweat.

Two nights ago we stayed at a UT state park where dumping grey water on the ground was a fineable offense. We, of course, used the minimal amount of grey water that we produce to put out the campfire

 

[Tailfins]

I like the idea of an onboard gray water holding tank and plan to install something along those lines in my Hawk. There's enough room under the sink for a small plastic container, which could be inserted as a kind of middle man between the sink drain and the outlet hose. The tank would hold a certain amount of gray water until I'm in a place where I can open the drain on the side of the camper and empty it. The available space is 11x11x8 inches. Got to look around now and see if I can find a suitable container. Any ideas or advice?