My DS & I spent a few hours this weekend creating a way to use the wash water outside. Our biggest hurtle was getting the water "up" to the ground. Our washer is in the basement below ground level. Here's what we did: Bought a 55 gallon drum. Set it next to the washer. We use the existing hole to put the washer hose in. We cut a hole in the top that was big enough to drop a utility pump into (Be sure to cover the hole so nothing falls in!). We then attached a regular garden type sillcock to the outside of the house. On the inside of this sillcock is a section of garden hose that attaches to the utility pump. When we want to save the water from the wash, we put the washer hose into the drum. When the load is finished I attach the section of garden hose to the pump, drop it into the drum & plug it in. I then use a garden hose that is attached to the outer side of the sillcock to direct the water to where ever I want it. Cost of this project: $10 for drum, $3.59 for sillcock, $7.94 for garden hose, $.59 for extra garden hose end, $57.00 for utility pump. Total $79.12. I already owned the utility pump, bought it last year for my rain barrels. Lessons learned: If you buy a utility pump spend the extra $10 & get one with a float switch. Mine has no switch at all, it is strictly plug-in & un-plug. That means someone has to stand & watch it, because if the pump runs without water for very long it will burn up. Keep the washer hose out of the water, other wise it will suck the used water back into the washer machine. Use some screens to filter out the lint. I use one on the end of the washer hose, one over the end of the pump & another on the outside garden hose. This is so I can use the water in my soaker hoses if I want too. This was a very easy project that almost anyone can do. We were surprised at how much water is used, about 35-40 gallons for a single load. ThatÂs a lot of water for the gardens! If a person wanted to, they could set up some drums outside & drain the washer water into them so the water could be used in the future. If my rain barrels run empty during the summer, I can refill them with washer water if I need too.

Ben, In Pennsylvania, We used to pump the washing machine water into pickle barrels. it is suprising how much water is used by a large laundry cycle! I knew someone that pumped it staight into a garden hose and watered from it.....but I still hauled the buckets of water. Not easy... but beneficial to the shrubs and flowers. My washer never missed a beat...and my flowers were appreciative because we were under a watering ban at the time. I live in North Carolina now and the rainfall this spring has been very little. I don't know where to purchase pickle barrels here...but large plastic trash cans should do the job just as well! The laundry soap...no bleach... seemed to keep the bugs down too. In Pennsylvania my washer hose was connected to another hose that pumped the water up and out. It was higher than the existing hose at the back of the washer....but the washer could handle it! Good Luck! Dianne

Sanitize or Allergene cycle for sheets and towels. Hot/boiling water works; I'll only consider washers with an onboard heater. Double and triple rinse; I won't buy a washer without multiple rinse options. Get a washer with super high spin speeds to extract as much soapy water as possible with each rinse. The drive toward energy savings, specifically less water and cold temps, has resulted in filthy laundry with detergent residue. If the detergent were really being rinsed out with just the standard cold wash, one rinse cycles, why would so many people need "Free and Clear" detergents? I actually read advice online that said when your towels start to smell bad, you know it's time to replace them. Huh? Send them through the sanitize cycle with a commercial laundry detergent instead. If washers have gotten so energy efficient that we're throwing out perfectly good towels, you have to wonder just how much eco-savings we've achieved.

"Did I misread this, or did everyone else? OP said the laundry water drains into the pit, ie the sump? Shouldn't it be going into the city sewer?" A common installation if the main sewer line is higher than the basement. It is also routinely used for houses on septic, since the lines are never deep enough to have drains in a basement unless the house is on a hill with the septic tank and field below the house. When septic houses are converted to municipal sewer the lines are rarely lowered, so the pit and ejector system remain. The ejector pump in the pit is usually a pretty powerful one, and the slightest obstruction in the line after the pit line joins the house sewer line can cause backup.