Grey Water Hacks: 5 Tricks For RV Life
Those of you that have been RVing for a while know the grey tank will reach capacity long before the black tank, and most likely before you deplete your potable fresh water tank as well.
To be able to extend the time you spend dry camping, you will need to learn some ways to minimize the amount of wastewater that enters your grey tank.
1. Use a dish pan in your sink.
Purchase a dish pan that will fit in the kitchen sink of your RV. When you finish doing the dishes consider “disposing” of the dishwater in one of four ways rather than sending it down the kitchen drain to the grey tank:
- Where legal (most everywhere), use it to water a thirsty bush just like tent camping.
- Use it to quench the evening campfire.
- Dump it down the toilet into the black tank.
- Save it in a gallon milk jug and use it to flush the toilet.
Remember the black tank seldom fills up before the grey tank, so take advantage of the “extra” space. In addition, the soapy dishwater will help keep your black tank clean.
Be sure to use environmentally-friendly biodegradable dish soap if you will be disposing of dishwater on the ground.
One of our favorite grey water hacks is to use a dish pan in the sink while doing the dishes. Photo by Mitch Barrie
2. Purchase an aerated showerhead with an on/off button.
An aerated showerhead utilizes less water than the showerhead that came with your RV, and the on/off feature will allow you to take “Navy Showers.” Less water used equals less wastewater in your grey tank.
Read more about the best types of showerheads in this Do It Yourself RV article.
3. Purchase a sewer cap with a hose connection.
This handy device allows you to adapt a non-potable garden hose to the 3” termination outlet on your RV and dispose of grey water in one of two ways:
- Where legal (not as many places as they were a few years ago) or with a rangers permission, you can slowly drain your grey water onto the ground in the boondocks. Dig a sump first, be sure to filter out small food particles with a screen to avoid attracting pests and cover when done.
- Route your grey water into an approved wastewater sump.
4. Spray your dishes before washing them.
Purchase a spray bottle and fill it with a mixture of dish soap, water, and a little vinegar. Spray the mixture on dirty dishes and wipe before washing which will greatly reduce the amount of water required to finish washing them.
Less water used equals less wastewater in the grey tank. Dawn dish soap is a favorite among many RVers.
5. Recycle your RV grey water.
The granddaddy of all grey water hacks is to recycle wastewater from your grey tank to flush the toilet.
This grey water hack employs a pump and filter to draw wastewater from the grey tank and uses it to rinse the toilet in place of potable water. This is the same concept as the last point in Hack #1, but a lot more convenient. Learn more about this hack here.
Cheap RV Living shared some great tips on disposing of grey water when boondocking in this Youtube video:
Find more grey water hacks
The next time you find yourself dry camping, consider which of these grey water hacks would work best for you and see how much longer you can extend your stay before filling the grey tank. You can also find great advice from fellow RVers on iRV2 Forums as well as in this article on RV Grey Water: What Is It & How To Dispose Of It.
Follow Dave’s RV adventures as he travels the West in search of forgotten and unique places. For Dave, home is where you park it, the more remote the better!
You can also by another gate valve and keep it connected to the termination. Keep this valve closed and open both gray and black. The tank levels will equalize and you’ll have more space for your gray water.
I totally disagree with Dave’s suggestions that you dump gray water on the ground or use it to put out your campfire. All water from washing dishes contains food residue and smells which attract animals and can make them sick. You wouldn’t dump the wash water from your kitchen sink into the backyard of your house – why would you dump it on the ground just because you are in the wilderness? That’s wildlife’s backyard.
While in BLM’s LaPosa LTVA,we asked about shower water when showering outside. We were told that as long as the shower water never hits the grey water tank it’s not “grey”. The ranger did request that we ALWAYS use biodegradable soap whether showering outside or in the rig because if dumping that stuff goes into an oversized septic tank like system and biosoaps dont kill the bacteria that is needed.
When traveling on remote country roads, I remove the cap open the gray tank valve slightly until there is a small stream. In a few minutes the tank is drained. I can do this without harming the environment by using nothing but natural biodegradable dish soap hand soap and shampoos
My hack is catch the shower water that’s cold before the “instant on” water heater actually heats the water. Then I have water to rinse dishes. I use a spray bottle of Dawn and water. I spray water on the dishes and sponge. Then spray the soap mixture. Wash everything at one time. Then rinse with my saved water. I can do a sink full of dishes with a half gallon of water. Of course, I wipe out as much food as possible before washing to prevent to much food stuff from going into the grey tank.
Very good ( thank you )
prior to washing dishes, we wipe all dishes, pots pans etc with a paper towel. It removes food particles and and much grease or oils. This gets most plates “clean” prior to washing with soap
I believe it is still against the law to dump your grey tank on public land. One concern is the food particles and other stuff will attract insects. I haven’t stayed at any State or National park that has approved dumping grey water onto the ground.
Hoping someone can help me. I am converting a shuttle bus into a home and made the mistake of having the shower drain sitting below my grey water tank. (Just stupid)
Is there any way I can get the shower water up into the grey tank?
Thanks for your time….best wishes
Ron
Ron, look for different kinds of sump pumps. You should be able to create a setup that works, it may require some creativity but it’s doable.