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The Ri-Industries Water Dictionary

by Ri Industries

Ri-Industries strives for excellence and environmental efficiency with all of its products, from our rainwater tanks to the Ri-Treat Waste Water Treatment System.

We often use so many terms related to water conservation that it can be difficult to sort everything out. What is the difference between ‘hard water’ and ‘soft water?’ Is ‘grey water’ really grey after all? It’s about time someone answered all of these water questions, so Ri-Industries is here to clarify.

Grey Water: While it is not always ‘grey’ in colour, grey water is the leftover water from baths, showers, hand basins, kitchen sinks and washing machines around your home. Not comfortable recycling water right out of the sink? The Ri-Treat Aerobic Wastewater System processes the grey water from your main drainage pipe into clean, odourless water to use for irrigation. Reusing grey water from laundry and bathrooms can save about 100,000 litres a year. With the average Australian family using 800 litres of water each day, conserving grey water can be crucial to helping our environment.

Hard Water: Hard water contains high levels of dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, and is measured as the equivalent concentration of calcium carbonate (milligrams per liter). For this reason, it is considered ‘hard,’ like a rock. ‘Hard water’ tends to lessen the lathering of soap, shampoo and detergents. You can typically find hard water in wells and boreholes.

Soft Water: Hardness levels of water in Adelaide are classified as less than 200 mg/L, and are considered by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines as good quality. However, people may want to ‘soften’ the water in their home in order to avoid mineral build-up from excessively hard water that can potentially clog the pipes or stain crockery. While soft water does not occur naturally as often as hard water, it reduces the need for detergent because it doesn’t contain minerals that interact with cleaning products.

So there you have it: three entries in the Ri-Industries Water Dictionary. Above all, it is important to remember that the best kind of water is reused and recycled efficiently. Are you interested in ways to make your home more environmentally friendly? Ri-Industries can help! Contact us with any questions.

 

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Your Rainwater Tank: What Can You Use The Water For?

by Ri Industries

In July 2006, South Australia began requiring that most new homes have a rainwater tank plumbed into the house, in an effort to reduce the demands on water supply in the region. As a result, South Australia has more rainwater tanks in backyards than any other state in Australia.

A rainwater tank is a great way to conserve water. Typically, rainwater tanks collect water that has run off your roof or gutters.  If you have a rainwater tank in your home, or are thinking of purchasing one, you may be wondering what you can use the rainwater for.

Here are some uses for the water collected from your rainwater tank.

Hot water systems

In most homes, hot water comes from a separate plumbing unit, so you can use rainwater to produce hot water for your use. Because the water is heated, your water will have less pathogens that cause illness. While still not recommended for drinking, having a hot water system hooked up to your rainwater tank can be used for other hot water uses, such as cleaning and showering.

Laundering

Another excellent use of a rainwater tank is for laundry. For either cold or hot water laundering, your rainwater can supply the water to your washing machine, which will save you money every time you start a load of laundry.

Toilet flushing

Ask your plumber to connect your toilet to your rainwater tank. Rainwater is an excellent water source for flushing your toilet. And with the average household flushing their toilet 2,000 times a year, think of the savings you can create when you use rainwater.

Irrigation

One of the most popular uses of rainwater is for irrigation. Rainwater can be applied to your lawn or garden through many methods, including a gravity-fed water hose, watering can or directly pumped to your sprinkler system.

Is rainwater safe to drink?

SA Water recommends that you not drink the water from your rainwater tank. Variables such as emissions from vehicles, gutter cleanliness and industry emissions can affect the quality of the collected rainwater. If you want to consume water from your rainwater tank, it is recommended you add a filtration system to purify the water.

No matter how you to choose to use your collected rainwater, your decision to use a rainwater tank is helping the local ecosystem by recycling water and putting less strain on local water mains. Consult with a plumber or rainwater tank expert to determine what size tank you need, and how you should use the water. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us about any rainwater tank needs.

Ri Treat Aerobic Water Waste System

Introducing Our Latest Video: Ri Treat Aerobic Waste Water System

by Ri Industries

If you live or plan to build in a non-sewered part of South Australia, you’ll need to consider different types of waste water solutions. Unfortunately, the water in your house doesn’t just dissolve into the ether – it needs to be treated and disposed of properly. The engineers at Ri-Industries have studied the best ways to deal with domestic sewage, and they engineered a remarkable solution – the Ri-Treat Aerobic Waste Water System – a state-of-the-art, cost-effective way to reuse household water.

In a nutshell, the Ri-Treat Aerobic Waste Water System processes the household water from your main drainage pipe into clean, odourless water to use for irrigation. It’s a cheaper solution than using mains water to irrigate your lawn and gardens. Check out our video to learn how Ri-Treat takes your domestic sewage and transforms it into usable water:

Fascinating, right? We hope you think so! We are very proud of our Ri-Treat waste water treatment system, and we’ve received many wonderful compliments from homeowners about Ri-Treat. If you’re interested in learning more about this product, please check out our website, or give us a call on 08 8444 8100.