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.

"Miele W1, Miele Little Giants or Miele Professional will all provide proper heating of the water to the temp selected. No need to set house common water heater to an unsafe temperature." Miele has temp options Cold tap, 85, 105, 120, 140, and sanitary 170. Very customizable, and heater wastes no time going to work. Most machines you have no idea what the temps are at all period. If a huge drum which most do not even utilize is not important to you, Miele is the bomb. It will hold as much as a full size top loader.

Mona,, Here's a tip that will save you some time & money. The Fluidmaster Valve uses a rubber diaphram that is held closed by the water supply pressure. When you fill your washing machine there is s slight drop in the water supply pressure and if the diaphram is weak it would allow some water to leak by causing the problem you describe. Rather than changing the whole fluidmaster valve you can get a replacement diaphram at any hardware store for about $.98. To change the diaphram turn the toilet water supply valve off, open the tank and snap the top cover off the Fluidmaster valve. You then turn the top of the valve about 1/4 turn and it lifts off exposing the diaphram. Lift the old diaphram off, slip the new one on and replace the parts you removed. (Fluid master has excellant illustrated instructions however if you go to a smaller hardware such as a neighborhood ACE hardware and ask one of the floor people, they will be glad to demonstrate how its done. The whole task will take less than 5 minutes, no tools and about $1 in parts.

As you might have guessed, "up to 15 GPM" is meaningless without other data. You probably need to look into industrial filter suppliers for technical data. I can report that my municipality typically supplies water at well above 60 psi, I use a pressure regulator to get it down (originally for my Miele Optima to try to discover if pressure was the reason its incompetently designed intake solenoids die, but other appliances may prefer lower pressure for solenoid reliability). My filter is mounted before my pressure regulator, and is a dual height 1 micrometer particle filter. I try to change it every 6 months. It seems adequate to not drag down the pressure, but I haven't tested its flow vs. pressure drop. At this writing at zero flow, pre-regulator pressure is 82 psi, post is 62 psi. What this means in my case is that the filter can lose 10 psi or so at whatever my maximum flow rate is likely to be. For you, the maximum flow would depend upon whether your filter is truly whole-house, or the external hose spigots are connected ahead of the filter and your maximum flow rate is just from a washing machine plus showers, for example.