Water/Washing machine, greywater use/Hot water from hot water/heating geothermal heat pump

Hello,

about the topic of washing machines, where washing is done with warm or hot water.

We are speculating between using the nice soft water from the rainwater cistern (I am very familiar with this topic for professional reasons and know from numerous laboratory tests how high-quality, pure, and better rainwater is for washing before the skeptics or opponents want to say something about it *g*) which saves water, reduces repair and electricity costs due to lime-free water, protects the laundry, and washes fresher, or drawing the warm water for the washing machine from the heating warm water (geothermal heat pump).

Considering this financially and economically in terms of consumption costs. Does anyone have experience with what is more worthwhile or whether it generally makes sense to burden the hot water system with this? I think if at all, washing should only be done during the day when hardly any warm water is used by the household members.

It would be great if someone knows something about this. The [RWZ] is excluded here, as it will be installed anyway and used at least for the toilets and the garden, so only the additional line to the washing machine would have to be considered.

Regarding the hot water: The washing machine also rinses with cold water, so if you always add hot water, the savings are gone. Unless you use a washing machine with cold and hot water connections. But I think the money that costs more, you could also spend on electricity.

For the dishwasher, it is even the case that in certain wash cycles it needs cold water because of protein.

That is true, you then need a different washing machine. It costs about (so mine that I have) 200 euros more. It would take about 10 years for it to pay off...

For the dishwasher, this is not possible anyway, since rainwater is not allowed for washing there, just like when showering.

"I am very familiar with the subject for professional reasons and know from numerous laboratory tests how high-quality, pure, and better the rainwater is for washing, before any skeptics or opponents want to write something about it *g*" [...] it protects the laundry and washes fresher

I am not a skeptic, but a practitioner and can report to you from our daily practice that some laboratory-related hints regarding the clarification of rainwater seem to be missing in your explanations.

In places where our customers decided to connect the washing machine to the rainwater system (RWZ), water treatment measures were taken quite soon after moving into the new home, because the laundry did not come out of the drum with the desired result. On the contrary, it discolored faster than when using tap water (TW).

Based on this, we recommend using the RWZ exclusively for toilets and garden irrigation.

Best regards from the Rhineland

I was a member of the Fachvereinigung Betriebs- und Regenwassernutzung e.V. in Darmstadt and during my time as a field representative for rainwater utilization/sewage technology and separation technology at a medium-sized concrete plant manufacturer, I engaged intensively with the other guys there and was, for example, also involved in the judicial decision on March 31, 2010 (Az: BVerwG8 C 16.08). Therefore, I am familiar with the laboratory investigations, the results, and of course the ERRORS during installation by the installer, the client, or the planning, which then quickly lead to statements like "This is no good." The biggest mistake made is that NO cleaning BEFORE the storage tank is performed. Properly planned systems deliver water quality 99% better than required. Bacterial growth in the laundry could demonstrably be shown to be at the same low level as laundry washed with drinking water.

The best example was a client who connected a flat roof system, which should never have been done in the first place (which is anyway not allowed).

Of course, it depends on the rainwater quality, contamination, and the cleaning process. Untreated rainwater almost NEVER works 98% of the time. I have already seen several systems without filters and cleaning stages or without floating water intake, which of course allows dirt to get into the laundry. What hardly anyone considers is that if, for example, a wood stove is operated, whether in your own house or at a neighbor’s, soot settles on the roof surface (you don’t see it and no one will tell you there is anything there) and this soot gets into the cistern; then, with incorrect planning of the cleaning technology (which is neither expensive nor complicated), it can of course lead to gray laundry. Because gray laundry does not come from bad water or from everyday dust or leaf leachates. In addition, the detergent must of course be chosen accordingly as not every detergent is suitable for rainwater. But it is generally a standard detergent which is inexpensive to obtain or we use a very expensive one that is mainly for ecological reasons as it is biodegradable and a 1 kg container lasts for over a year.

By the way, a colleague once had gray laundry because his wife had put a heavily soiled black cleaning cloth in the wash; not even the best water helps then.

Hello,

.... and was, for example, also involved in the judicial ruling on March 31, 2010 (Az: BVerwG8 C 16.08).

Well water is a different source. By the way, this ruling clearly points out that officials should not always rely on their tunnel vision.

Therefore, I know the laboratory tests, the results, and of course the ERRORS during installation by the installer, the builder, or the planning, where it quickly says "This is no good". The biggest mistake made is that NO cleaning is done BEFORE the storage tank. Properly planned systems deliver water quality 99% better than required. Bacterial growth in the laundry could demonstrably be shown to be at the same low level as laundry washed with drinking water.

Again – well water is a completely different matter. Of course, bacterial growth must be evaluated differently. Besides, I want to state that we are not among the cheap providers and certainly planned the system properly. I only gave you my experience; if you prefer the connection to the washing machine, I will not try to dissuade you from that.

By the way, a colleague once had gray laundry because his wife had put a black dirty cleaning cloth in with the laundry – not even the best water helps there.

I recently had pink laundry because a red sweater got mixed in with the light laundry; ecological and/or expensive detergents didn’t help either, and I wash with DW.

Rhenish greetings