'clear' water for front load laundry?

It's kind of a gray water thing, but you know that water that you just run until it starts to get warm (like when getting into the shower). I've heard it given a term because there's no pollutants in it at all. I think it's 'clear'.

Anyway, I have a friend who stores that water in a handy bucket and then uses it in her laundry loads. Easy. But, I've also heard that front-load washing machines are much more water efficient. But is there any possible way to tweak them so we can add the water manually, and thus use this clear water in them?

My intuition says no. Any washing machine engineers out there?

I have no idea about the front loader, but what a great idea to save water!

I suppose you could pour it into the front loader before loading it.  Maybe. 

How about using that bucket for flushing the toilet?  Instead of using the lever, just pour in half a bucket really fast.  Wait, then slowly pour in the other half.

That's probably what I'd do, the toilet thing. I mean, it's handy. Shower bucket to toilet. No need to even leave the room.

A friend of mine has worked out a hole 'cascading water' scheme for the house, and it involves shower to laundry. It is clean water, so dirtier water can be used for the toilet.

But there's an ideal plan, and then there's what works....

The toilet use sure sounds more practical to me.

It seems that lately I've been talking to some folks and using this idea of "granola level 3" vs. "granola level 8" ... of course, different labels could be used like "permaculture level 3" ... 

I would say that taking the bucket of water from the shower and using it in the toilet would be level 8.  To the washer would be level 9.

If you regularly cook with herbs you grew yourself:  level 3.

If you regularly cook with herbs you plucked from the wild:  level 4.

I dunno ... the more I fiddle with this idea, the more like it.  I think there is more appeal for somebody to move from level 3 to level 4 than to talk about level 9 stuff and somebody might get a little freaked out and give up on all the rest.

Sorry .... just a bit of a tangent ... 

summed up with.......Baby steps! 

All the front loaders I've used have been at laundromats. Those always have a little port in the top where you put your detergent. It seems you could just pour the water in there. That way you wouldn't have to try to put it in the front door.

Dave