Dish Water and Bio sand filters

Looked over the forum, new here didn't find anything. Just wanting to know what kind of experience if any people hare had with sand filters and dishwater. I was considering building a small five gallon size just for dish and rinse water (possible shower) to set near the door of my tiny home. I'm living pretty primitive and just a stroke of luck i have internet connection.

Dont know if this would be a good idea or should i just use it with a larger filter . And I dont want to mess up a larger filter. Was just thinking since i wash and rinse in two small oblong galv tubs I could just recycle it over night. There is also shower water with soap in it. Having been in the Navy I use the two minute shower method so i only use about 2-3 gallon of water a day.

Thanks

Hi Dave and welcome to Permies!

You don't say where you are located (location, soil type, climate, etc), but if you are using that small amount of water, you could just directly put it into the landscape without a filter - sand or otherwise. I have used an outdoor shower since 2008 and have also dumped my dishwater into the landscape from plastic tubs for about the same amount of time. Basically both greywater sources go into infiltration pits covered with woodchips that act as a biofilter and build soil fertility.

You can see my shower setup here: Part 1 and Part 2

I haven't written a blog yet about my new KRD (kitchen Resource Drain) yet but here are a couple of pics of the installation of the new infiltration basin. Basically I decided to do this because of pain issues caused by a chronic autoimmune disease - it was becoming an issue in lugging the water outside all the time. Now I don't have to!

Like your set up. My problem is that I have to haul water in five gallon cans from two miles away. At 66 with heart problems the less I have to haul and throw around is better Recycling is he main thing. And if I can filter and reuse it over night no problem. i can collect rain water and am working on that system. Right now I use my rinse water as the next dishwater and clean rinse water. And I am on anthers property temporarily. (Here in E TN on the plateau) Hopefully to move to permanent home in spring. Guess I wrote that all in my introduction and not here

Be Well
Dave

I gotcha now - thanks for the added info. So basically, at this point, you want to reuse the water as many times as possible to save on lugging it around (I can relate).

Re-using the rinse water as the next batch of soapy water for dishes is a safe bet. I'd definitely pass the shower water through a filter (preferably some kind of biological filter like a reed bed) before reusing it for something like laundry. The soapy kitchen water - technically "dark grey water" - that I would send out to the landscape and not reuse as it contains added "nutrients". I mean, you could clear it up by using something like John Todd's living machine, but I think that's more complex than you want to get into for your current situation. Adding rain barrels in your area may save you a few bucket trips.

Here's some links that might be of interest:
--Small scale living machines
--Compost Filters and Filter Bags
--Living machines
--Reed beds
--Sand Filters