eli5 Is there a reason the waste water like from showers can’t be filtered through pipes and used for toilet water?

Question

eli5 Is there a reason the waste water like from showers can’t be filtered through pipes and used for toilet water?

In: 797

Answer 1

Shower water (grey water) and sewage (brown water) generally should not be mixed together. Science knows a lot, but we don’t yet fully understand how the chemicals you shower with interact with the chemicals that come out of you.

Remember, you’re not just mixing food and water: we’re taking supplements, pesticides, hormones, drugs, and medicine. Mixing that with the list of chemicals found in your shampoo can have ugly effects in the filtration process.