Water Quality Needed In the Home
There are many uses for water in the home. From washing dishes to washing your clothes, all these things need water, whether doing them by hand or with a time-saving appliance. But, do all functions need to be performed with fresh, clean water straight from the tap? Or, would some be as easily accomplished with water that has been filtered after some other use? There are potable and non-potable uses for water, and both have options when it comes to water that can be used.
Filtered Water Uses
Typically there are two types of household uses for filtered water. These can be classified as potable, or uses that require water a person could safely drink, and non-potable or uses that do not require water as filtered as what a person could safely drink. Up to 73% of the water used in a home can go to non-potable uses (mostly flushing toilets and showering) and account for much of the wastewater that treatment plants have to deal with. These uses include:
- Potable uses � The chores and parts of daily life that require potable water include: Drinking water, cooking, washing dishes, cleaning foods, growing food plants in gardens or as crops, watering lawns where children frequently play or where animals frequently exercise, water you give to pets, and brushing your teeth.
- Non-potable uses � Some of the non-potable uses for filtered water in the household can also include: Showering, doing laundry, washing your hands, flushing the toilet, cleaning such as mopping the floor, filling pools/spas, watering the lawn, outdoor hoses, and watering plants like flowers or houseplants (as long as you don�t have pets that snack on them).
What Really Needs Potable Water?
Of all the household needs for water, only a few truly need water filtered to the potable level. The needs above, such as cooking and drinking water, certainly need to be filtered to a higher level than water that wouldn�t be put inside your body. But, there are also many needs for water out there that don�t require that pure, filtered water to be accomplished.
Non-potable water can be utilized safely in activities and chores that don�t require water to be fresh. Science has proven that using non-potable water isn�t hazardous to the people who use it, as long as they are not ingesting it through direct contact or by using it on food. This has given way to greywater systems, which help conserve the water that can be used at home and does not need to be filtered, potable water.
Greywater and Water Quality Needed in the Home
Greywater, which is water that has been used already in things like showers and for hand washing, has become a part of household water in many places. The water is recycled by being treated in a tank below the ground outside the house, and then piped back in for normal use. This can satisfy the needs of non-potable use, depending on the level of filtration that is given to the greywater.
Treated greywater can be used on lawns and gardens, as long as they�re not used on tubers that are eaten raw, or sprayed on above ground food plants. It can also be used for things like flushing the toilet and washing cars. It is also becoming the answer to reducing water use in many cities.
When determining what quality of water is needed in the home, a person should always look at what they�re trying to do. Everyone has potable and non-potable water needs, and if a person can get by with using filtered greywater, he or she is doing all they can to help conserve water. Of course, to feel better about using water like that at home, people can also decide to filter their water and get that extra amount of protection.