Many potential tiny homeowners worry about tiny house plumbing even before making a purchase. While traditional homes have permanent water access, when choosing a tiny house on wheels, there’s no assurance that you will always find a water source wherever you go. While many talk about building a tiny home on wheels and lightweight sourcing materials, discussing the plumbing system and how to get water in and out of the space is a neglected topic. You don’t need a trained plumber to do everything, as reputable builders can offer you several plumbing options that fit your lifestyle. You can now connect with established tiny home builders via TinyHouseMe to get a faster response.
Getting Water Inside the Tiny Home Bathroom
The Pump and Tank System
The most practical decision will be to put a tank inside the house and get a pump to pressurize and circulate the water. This is an ideal option as it provides the functionality of a traditional house with a shower and offers freedom of living in a tiny house. However, the downsides are few and bearable. The pumps become noisy while in use, and the tanks require more space than you anticipate. Still, you can decide on the tank size before the purchase, but keep in mind that a larger tank will store more water, and you won’t have to fill it back again and again. On the other hand, the larger the tank, the heavier the load, and more space is necessary inside the van.
Nevertheless, you can handle having a large tank inside the tiny dwelling because a well-reputed builder can offer plenty of ways to camouflage the tank for aesthetics. For example, the tank can be hidden beneath the kitchen cabinets. The only concern about having a tank is that you need to fill it with water. Either haul the water in jugs and pour the liquid inside the tank or use a hose via an external fill port and get the tank filled. Unfortunately, the tank doesn’t hold much water for flushing the toilet, which brings us to the next alternative.
Hooking up system for getting the water inside
The tiny house movement is not new, and now it’s trending all over the US. There are a lot of tiny house campsites where you will have access to water. You can hook your tiny home to a regular water source and get the tank filled. The hookup choice is great as you get a constant source of water supply, but for this, you need to install a plumbing system inside the tiny house.
Go Hybrid – The best of both the worlds
You can use the conventional hookup when installing the tiny home and have a water supply as you go off-grid – but that’s only for a while. However, you can also install a proper plumbing system and accept city water, and have the pump and tank system attached to the tiny structure. The second option of having a plumbing system with a tank and pump can prepare you for all eventualities and gives you immense freedom and flexibility. If you are on the road and enjoying the trip on the tiny home on wheels, you can plug in and not worry about water. However, having a plumbing system involves a lot of work; the tank will take up your space, and the pump noise will create a racket – but it’s all worth it. The hybrid system is a good tradeoff if you seek complete flexibility.
Tiny House Drainage System
There are different kinds of water that you need to remove from your tiny house. One is the black water, the waste from the toilet, and the other is the grey water which is the waste from showers, sinks, and the washing machine. Storing the black water in a mobile home is challenging because of the weight restrictions, and that’s why using a composting toilet is highly recommended. Having a composting toilet does make a lot of difference while living off-grid. However, the grey water is the waste that hasn’t come in contact with the feces, and here are a few ways to drain them out from the tiny house.
The Grey Water Catchment
The grey water should never be released in lakes or other water bodies as it might pollute them. Nevertheless, you can drain grey water into the ground as plants and trees can filter it and use it as a fertilizer. It’s very simple to drain the grey water, but there are a few things to know. Firstly, removing grey water is not always legal, and there are different systems you should use for its dispersal. The tiny home builders will be able to guide you on this subject. Connect via TinyHouseMe for priority service and get to know things in more detail.
Collect and Dump
You can get rid of both grey and black water at dump stations. Many RVs use this system and frequently visit the dump station to offload the wastewater. The only concern is that holding so much water inside the tiny home might increase the load on the trailer.
Final Words
While learning how to get the water in and out of the tiny house is important, you should also consider the climatic conditions and how to prevent water from freezing in cold climates or heat the water before use. These topics are for some other day (or sooner, if you get connected with the tiny home builders via TinyHouseMe). For now, get to know the different approaches to getting water in and out of your tiny house on wheels and choose the option that works best for you!
