Water butt in a small terraced garden

I’d like to know too please x

You’d have to ask a plumber as it would be very specific to the build of your house. My understanding is that grey bath and black toilet water eventually go into the same drain so you would have to divert the waste bath water.

There would need to be a switching mechanism to re-divert the bath (or over-bath shower) water into the drain once the butt was full, which it soon would be if you are not using the water in the garden every day, else the butt will soon be overflowing.

An average bath uses around 80 litres of water. A small butt only holds 100 to 150 litres. A medium one 200 to 250 litres.

It costs around 35p-40p for 80 litres of metered water including sewage charges.

Also, what would be the situation with the chemicals in bath, shower and hair products as well as the general grime, skin and hair loss that goes into the water system?

I think this a question best suited to the Screwfix Community board for the technical aspects of installation and use.

You can do it gravity fed, as long as your water butt is reachable with your hosepipe and has a little water in the bottom before you start. I remember my engineer dad doing this in 1976. He didn’t put a brick in the bath though, one of us had to hold the hosepipe under! This YouTube video explains, it’s easy to do.

www.google.com/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAV1ylJCAAZb6rqb1GN9xsvuqFiuePyWg1YOycxEeeO2-rSAUBz9nSCE19I_tww0kPUheJlTqQcz5RHJp4XQSAbG5hmvlrfICZT68h3AE-t8oazULJbNzScCFaPiI7h3A

I thought a water butt was just for water coming off the roof.

No, you can fill it however you want to, it’s just a water storage container.

I’m not sure it’s a good idea storing grey water
I use grey water but just what I save in a bucket
A small garden would not need a butt , just a bucket full

Surely one bucket full of water is only enough for three or four pots, not a garden? A bath full of water would not water an average garden for more than a couple of days, so you wouldn’t be storing it for long if you did siphon it into a butt? My dad actually just used the hose from the bath though, and watered directly onto the garden, and filled a couple of watering cans for the hanging baskets

I've just bought a small collapsible water butt with taps on it. I plan to put it at the front of the house under the stress point of the gutter where more rain spills over and a large tractor funnel to catch the rain but you can cut the bottom off a large water dispenser bottle and invert it with mesh secured round the spout as cheap improvisation. I have disabilities that make struggling with buckets difficult. Argos do slimline water butts on a stand that might work for you too. I love the bath water and hose video Casdon!

What you want is doable but would be hideously expensive and disruptive for what you want.
Why not start with having showers if that’s possible.
Could you use your washing machine less?
Do you collect all your run off water?

I have a water butt that collects water from a short length of guttering along what was once the kitchen vestibule. The down pipe used to go into a soak away but we cut the pipe off and poked it into the butt. This is clean water that I use for the bird bath and pond. At the side of the kitchen door is a diverter tank. One of my Sils fitted it. This takes water from the bathroom - bath and wash basin. It's grey water but I use it for watering plants outdoors (I wouldn't use it for houseplants). Sometimes it smells of Badedas! During the drought I had an unending supply of water from this tank. It hasn't harmed any of my flowering plants or veg. I conserve water as much as I can (weekly bath and hair wash). Last year my monthly water debit was £18 and I was in credit at the end of the year. £25 per month this year. Also I don't flush the loo every time and there's a water hippo in the loo tank.

I’ve got a pipe coming out of the bathroom from underneath the bath and it goes across a bit of wall into the down pipe to the main drain. There’s a screw cap thing that I can unscrew to easily rod the pipe under the bath if it blocks. When there’s a lack of water I use that hole to screw in another pipe that leads straight down to a water butt and a “Heath Robinson” style irrigation system around my little yarden. It actually works really well and only takes about 15 minutes to set up each year, less to take down when winter comes and I don’t need it. Excess water just flows off down the usual drain pipe. It cost the price of a screw fitting bend, a bit of drain pipe, several yards of thinner plastic tubing and the water butt. (Most of which I got from the local freebee group). It wasn’t hard to fix, I’m not a particularly capable DIY person, sewing and knitting are my main hobbies but they don’t really lend themselves to outdoor plumbing 🤣

In my terraced house yard I have a water butt for rainwater and find that’s enough.

To Expand: The wash basin water runs into the bath water down pipe and the pipe comes out of the bathroom wall at just below first floor level at the side of the back door and is fixed to the wall at the side of the back door. Sil cut the pipe just a bit higher than the height of the diverter tank and fixed the diverter equipment to the pipe so it empties into the tank and not the drain. It is a permanent fixture.

This is a picture from B&Q website.

You can buy inline wall mounted butts. These will send the surplus back to the drain.

You can also buy toilets that fill your cistern from your sink, also sending surplus back into the drain.

My butt is connected to the guttering, but does not overflow because of the diversion.

BTW are we all aware that a meter fitted to an outside tap used for the garden can get you a rebate on your water bill

I think it is definitely possible to reuse bath water in a small terraced garden, but I would keep the system as simple as possible. Rather than installing a large water butt, I would use a compact container or a simple siphon pump to transfer cooled bath water directly to the garden when needed.

The main advantage is that it reduces water waste and can help keep the garden watered during dry spells. It should also be relatively inexpensive and easy to manage without taking up too much space. However, I would be careful about storing bath water for long periods, as it can develop unpleasant smells and bacterial growth. Ideally, it should be used within 24 hours, applied directly to the soil, and kept away from vegetables and other edible crops.

I would also use mild, plant-friendly soaps and avoid water containing bleach or strong cleaning products. As for water bills, the savings would depend on how much water is reused and whether the property has a water meter. The financial benefit might be modest, but the environmental benefit is worthwhile.

My preferred solution would be a small, discreet system that can be removed easily if necessary. That would make it practical for a small garden without creating a permanent feature that might put off future buyers. Overall, I would try a simple, low-cost approach first rather than investing in a complicated installation.