29
votes
Accepted
Why don't toilets use saltwater?
The main answer is logistical. Building a network of pipes to convey water to houses is a major effort, and most places where that's been done found it extremely expensive. Providing a second set of ...
- 1,307
20
votes
Why don't toilets use saltwater?
Catalina Island does use salt water for toilets. It's a small community, however, and they seem to be shifting towards freshwater due to corrosion issues inherent to salt water utilization.
From ...
- 348
8
votes
Accepted
Does my facial scrub contain microplastics?
Ingredients
I used beatthemicrobead.org to check the ingredients which gave the following:
The following ingredients are considered microplastics:
carbomer: environmental impact article
...
- 223
4
votes
What are the consequences of wasting water in a water-rich country?
Regardless of where you live, one or more of the following most likely applies:
Damaging ecosystems by removing scarce water. If you live in an arid place, the water you waste would have been used ...
- 11.8k
3
votes
Processing grey water (sink, shower) in off-grid situation
I was faced with a similar question a couple of years ago. The best solution I could come up with was to feed the grey water into an area occupied by plants that consumed 'large' quantities of water ...
- 2,804
2
votes
Why don't toilets use saltwater?
It might even be more environmentally friendly to dispense with using flush toilets altogether by switching to using negative pressure toilets. Vacuum toilets are used on planes and also help to ...
- 708
2
votes
What are the consequences of wasting water in a water-rich country?
Your parents taught you not to "waste water" because they paid the water bills. Thus the negative connotations associated with "wasting water" are purely (or at least overwhelmingly) economic. It ...
- 2,804
2
votes
Does adding essential oil to a wash waste detergent?
Adding the essential oils during the rinsing stage of the wash cycle (when the detergents have already done their job) makes much more sense as even though the essential oils might not use up much ...
- 366
2
votes
Does adding essential oil to a wash waste detergent?
If you don't add additional detergent to your wash (nor do additional wash loads because you believe your cloths come out without being cleaned as well) to compensate for any effects (real, imagined, ...
- 1,603
2
votes
Accepted
Embodied energy of tap water
Check the TRM for recent, state-specific data
Illinois (and probably other states) now requires energy efficiency programs to estimate the energy impact of water supply and discharge -- in Illinois, ...
- 11.8k
1
vote
What kind of experiment could be conducted to determine how harmful different kinds of soap are for cleaning floors?
It would be much easier as well as more informative to use small pots of something fast growing. Cress, for example, though with a plant with bigger seeds you could count them and compare germination ...
- 2,116
1
vote
Is it feasible to use constructed wetlands for greywater treatment in places where lakes freeze for more than half of the year?
Another strategy with human & animal waste involved is growing algae from the effluent to purify the water, recycling it then cheap and easy, uniits are insulated, LEDs via fiber optics climate ...
- 11
1
vote
Processing grey water (sink, shower) in off-grid situation
One possible solution would be to construct mulch pits around trees, etc. and then discharge the greywater directly into the bottom of the mulch pits.
The mulch pits will help decompose any grease/...
- 31
1
vote
Why don't toilets use saltwater?
Navy/Marine ships usually have two systems to handle water, in separate tanks:
CHT: Collection, Holding and Transfer tanks (more detail on the standards by the SBIR here)
MSD: Marine Sanitation ...
- 573
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible