How to Manage Water Supply and Waste in a Tiny House

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

Hey everyone, it’s Manfred here—welcome back to The Rich Minimalist! Today, I'm diving into one of the most relentless realities of tiny house living: making sure you’ve actually got water when you need it. Really, water’s at the heart of off-grid life—if you’re thinking about setting up somewhere beyond the reach of city lines, you need a plan for water access that goes way beyond just… you know, opening the tap. There’s no magic faucet out here! Let’s talk through how we actually get water in these setups, what works, and what definitely doesn’t.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

So, first off, how do you get water in an off-grid tiny home? There's rainwater harvesting, wells, and for a lot of folks—including me—just hauling in portable tanks. Rainwater is the obvious first choice for a lot of tiny homes: you run gutters from your roof straight into barrels or tanks. Sounds pretty straightforward, but trust me, it's really only straightforward if it rains enough. And if you have enough roof to catch it. Then there’s wells, which, if you’re lucky enough to have one on your land? That’s practically the gold standard. Unfortunately, on my land, drilling a well would cost me somewhere around fifteen grand—we’re talking about seventy meters down!—so that’s a big nope for now.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

Portable tanks are probably my reality and maybe yours, too. They’re flexible, they force you to get creative with refills, and yeah, if you are very unlucky that could mean some serious working out lugging water up a hill or wherever you’re parked. Now, the magic number for water use? For me, I’ve learned I can survive just fine on about a hundred liters a week. I use water for washing the dishes, bathroom sink, highly optimised laundry (more on that in a separate episode), and shower. I know now that my showers require eight liters. That’s with me showering cold—intentionally although I have a boiler. But it makes me shower faster. The bonus? There are health perks too, like accelerated circulation and alertness. So, the real key is you gotta know how much you’re using, and be honest about it.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

One thing people don’t realize: you need to size these water systems right. Every time you want that water pressure—say for a shower or cooking—you need a pump, and those pumps run off your solar power setup. So if you listened to the last episode about solar essentials, you’ll know, that energy use adds up. In a tiny house, everything’s an interconnected puzzle—water, energy, space. It all has to fit and work together without eating up the minimal space you’ve got inside.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

But just getting water in isn’t enough—it’s gotta be safe, and, well, not disgusting! Rainwater’s not automatically clean. There could be all sorts of junk in there, from bird droppings to the roof material itself breaking down. If you’re using well water, you might end up with weird minerals or bacteria, so both need filtration. For me, I’ve found multi-stage filters—mesh at the gutters, sand and carbon filters, and then, for drinking or cooking, you really want UV purification or boil it. There’s no room for being casual about this.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

What I actually do is split my water up: I have one storage for washing up and showering, and another—for the actual drinking water—I just buy it and bring it to the land. Maybe that’s not hardcore purist, but it makes things a lot less stressful. It also means my precious drinking supply stays as clean as possible, which, honestly, I don’t trust my makeshift rainwater or river filters to guarantee against everything.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

And then, there’s the problem of storing your water. You need tanks that are food-safe and you have to protect them against too much direct sunlight—otherwise, hello, algae city. Winter makes it even trickier; I still haven’t been through my first full cold season with this setup. Frozen pipes or tanks? Yeah, I’m expecting to be learning some hard lessons there soon. So, I’m thinking insulation, maybe even some sort of heat tracing for my lines or at least prepping to drain everything if the big chill hits. But I don't know yet. Time will tell.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

No matter how small your system, you can never go on autopilot. Algae and gunk build up in no time. Even just a few blocked lines or a tank that’s gone green—it can mess up your week quick. I check my tanks, clean the filters, and watch for ice—well, I will soon, anyway. Monitoring and maintenance is, like, your new hobby when you’re off-grid.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

Now, there’s the other side—what goes out. And if you’re squeamish, sorry, but this is off-grid reality! In the tiny house world, you’ve got “blackwater” from toilets and “greywater” from sinks and showers. Composting toilets are pretty much the minimalist’s favorite. They don’t use water, don’t smell if you’ve got good airflow, and, honestly, the whole thing aligns with a no-waste, hands-on lifestyle. That said, they do need regular emptying, and you’ve gotta have a plan for where you put that compost—make sure it’s all legal where you are.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

Some people go for incinerating toilets. They burn waste to ash, which sounds, um, intense—and costs a fortune up front, not to mention needing lots of energy or gas. Truth is, I went for maybe the most expensive option: the Clesana sealing toilet. I know, I know—I’m supposed to be frugal, but this thing just works, no mess, and it’s electric. To me, totally worth it, because if there’s one thing you don’t want to go wrong, it’s your toilet.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

For greywater, you have to get a bit more creative. What I plan to do is to reuse as much as I can—garden irrigation works if it’s filtered and you’re only using natural, eco-friendly soaps. Actually, this is non-negotiable for me: strict about what goes down the drain, only neutral, and minimal. Some places are super strict about how you handle greywater, so always double-check the rules. If you can’t use it on plants, you might need a holding tank and trips to a disposal station, which is annoying but necessary.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

If you want something both simple and sustainable, I really recommend rainwater harvesting—even if it’s just for showers and dish washing. Good rainwater is usually fine for those uses as long as it’s filtered decently. And if you’re a DIY type, setting up a filter is surprisingly easy: you can layer coarse gravel, sand, fine activated carbon, and then throw in a UV or boil the water for a final clean. I mean, there are fancy filters you can buy, but a homemade one can be just as good if you keep it maintained.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

Now, prepping for winter is where things get tricky—depending on your location—again, like I said, I haven’t survived my first full cold season yet, but I’m making my plan. You wanna insulate your tanks; think foam panels or wrap them up, bury lines if you can, or look into heating tapes for the most exposed spots. If you don’t prep, you’ll wake up one morning with no running water and frozen everything—not a good way to start your day.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

There are also some more advanced options for greywater recycling—like using sand and reed beds to treat water before sending it out to irrigation. It’s definitely doable on a small scale. It cuts down your total water needs and, well, feels pretty amazing to close the loop that way. For me, every step that means less water in, less out, and less refilling equals more time doing, you know, any of the sports, wandering, or riding enduro I actually moved off-grid for.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

Honestly, here’s something you don’t realize until you’re living it: there’s no “endless water”—you just can’t take it for granted. In a regular home, you never even think about where water comes from or where it goes. In a tiny house, especially off-grid, it’s a background worry, all the time. After getting my solar system sorted—by the way, if you missed that, check out our previous episode... because, once that’s up, it’s just a little maintenance here and there. But water stays front and center. It never lets you forget it’s there.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

You get really tuned in to your surroundings. You have to notice when rain is coming, what seasons are driest, even how your needs change if you have guests visiting. I have to track every drop and plan ahead for weird weather or maybe something breaking—it’s never boring! But, and this is the silver lining, it breeds so much mindfulness. You get more aware, more capable, and honestly, a lot more grateful. This whole challenge—yeah, it’s a pain sometimes, but it’s also what makes this life so rich and rewarding.

Manfred, The Rich Minimalist

That’s it for today, friends. If you’re planning your own journey or just curious, remember—water’s always at the top of the priority list. Keep learning, keep tweaking your setup, and I’ll be back soon with more stories—and probably a few mistakes—from my off-grid adventures. Thanks for listening to The Rich Minimalist. Until next time!