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Gardening

Water butt in a small terraced garden

(7 Posts)
Buddleja Thu 27-Aug-26 19:12:13

Has anyone in a small terraced house succeeded in installing a water butt to collect bath water for the garden? How easy was it to install, how invasive is it in a small space, how easy is it to use, what was the impact on your water bill and what did the people who subsequently bought your house think of it?

Cossy Thu 27-Aug-26 19:32:27

I’d like to know too please x

Graphite Thu 27-Aug-26 20:15:22

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.

Casdon Thu 27-Aug-26 20:57:49

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

fluttERBY123 Thu 27-Aug-26 21:48:41

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

Casdon Thu 27-Aug-26 22:05:57

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

aggie Thu 27-Aug-26 22:15:03

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