Water Options for Tiny Homes

Thinking about going small and living in a tiny home? To go small you have to master the small details. When it comes to water, your options will be affected by the type of house you live in, where you live, and the amount of water you want to use.

Without further adieu, let’s jump right in (pun intended). 

Off Grid and Travel Bound

Damn the man! You want to go where you want when you want with your tiny home.

But you’re going to need a few things before you do.

Water Tank

Building a water tank into your tiny home is a great option for both stationary houses and PMRVs if you don’t or can’t be fully reliant on grid water. Tanks are heavy and take up a lot of space, so keep your square footage and max weight constraints in mind (as well as how often you’ll be able to refill it). 

You can get water tanks ranging between 20 gallons and 46 gallons for $90 to $150. Many freshwater tanks are rectangular and are made without seams, making storage more efficient (yay! no empty spaces). Some come with a water pump and the necessary hoses to connect your tank to your plumbing and to properly vent your tank. More on those later 

Choosing the proper tank size will be dependent on how off-grid you intend to be. A 20-gallon storage tank might pair nicely with a grid hook-up in case of emergency, but if you intend to go off-grid every now and then (for travel and whatnot), a 46 gallon tank is probably what you want.

Red Alert! A note for PMRV-ers with water tanks: Don’t fill your water tanks all the way up while traveling. One gallon of water weighs 8.5 pounds, and the extra weight will not only weigh your house down, but also put a lot of pressure on your tank and reduces your gas mileage. Keep just a few gallons in your tank in case of an emergency until you can safely refill it.

Water Tank Pump

If you’re relying on a non-pressurized water storage tank (meaning you’re off grid) you’ll need a water pump to create the pressure that gets water moving in your pipes. You’ll have to connect your pump to a power source to make it work, and set it so that it only runs when you turn the faucet on to conserve water. Cheaper models tend to be loud, leading many tiny house dwellers to upgrade to more expensive but quieter pumps. They’re worth the added expense and only cost a little over $100. 

Also: Consider investing in a pump strainer to filter out any sediments that might enter your pump. These cost about $15, and are good for you and your water system.

Water Tank Vent

In addition to a pump, you’ll need an air vent to maintain the proper pressure when the tank is filled and to create a vacuum when water is drawn from it. (A tank vent is also good should you accidentally overfill your tank, because excess water will exit through it.) 

It works via a small hose attached to a vent nozzle, and the whole hose set can be kept easily inside your home. Rig the hose to sit above your sink or set it up to lead outside.

On Grid and Spreading Roots

Tiny home living is complicated enough, so going on grid will simplify your water problems a lot.

Municipal Grid

If you establish your household on a permanent foundation near a town water main, you can connect to your municipal grid. The price to connect to a water main varies widely depending on how far you live from the existing network and what materials you’ll need for your specific location (soil structure can change things dramatically). 

On average, connecting a tiny home to a grid costs $1,500 to $2,000. Costs might go up $1,000 or more depending on how much excavating and installation needs to be done, and it’s possible you’ll need to get a permit to allow for installation in the first place. A permit could cost anywhere from $100 to over $1,000 based on how much work has to be done to get you connected to the grid.

The pipe material you need will greatly influence the costs outlined above. The most basic types are PVC and copper. If you’re living in a warm climate where the ground won’t freeze, you can use PVC piping to connect to the grid. If you’re in a climate with frequent sub-zero temperatures, you’ll need to invest in copper. PVC costs around $4 per square foot, whereas copper costs up to $20 per square foot to install.

Do some research about the right type of pipe for your region to gauge how much you’ll likely need to spend. It may cheaper to go another route.

RV Parks

To connect your PMRV to the grid at an RV park, dump stations, or a full hook-up campground— you’ll need an RV drinking hose. If you’re living in a colder climate, you might need two: a regular hose for warmer temperatures, and a heated hose to connect to an insulated spigot so they won’t freeze in the winter. A regular hose costs around $30, while you can expect to pay $100 for a heated hose. 

Spreading Roots, But Still Off Grid: Well Water

To do well-water you obviously need to own the land you’re on and have the groundwater capacity to do so. Just beware: many aspects of well water installation can impact the price. You have to live someplace with a water table that’s high enough to tap into, and whose water is safe to drink. Not all water tables are created equally! Many are affected by both natural and man-made conditions— meaning soil conditions, nearby farms and industrial sites can all pollute water and make it non-potable.  

Installation

If you live over an aquifer, or if you live near a body of water like a lake or a river, there is a higher likelihood that a well is possible for you. Otherwise, you might have to dig 500-1000 feet. At an average price tag of $30 per square foot to drill a well, it can get expensive fast (especially if you live in the mountains). 

After 100 feet down, you have to start drilling. For shallower water tables, you might pay $25 or less per square foot to simply dig. The total cost for digging or drilling a well costs on average $5,000 to $7,000. However, after drilling, you’ll also need to line the hole with a well casing pipe and install a well pump. These aspects together, plus labor, can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000. 

If you want a storage tank that can hold an excess supply of well water, you can get tanks that hold 100 to 200 gallons of water. The average cost for these is around $250. It’s highly recommended you do so because a storage tank can extend the life of your water pump by years. 

Extra Factors to Consider

Place your well far away from where your sewage might let out,and from messy spots like mud-prone areas. Also, make sure you’re not digging through areas where there are pipes. You may have to check in with the local utility companies for this.

Worth Your Consideration: Water Treatment

Note: You should consider the following regardless of what water system you choose.

Having clean water to drink and wash with is vital to maintain good health. The following will detail different purification and filtration options, but will not describe water softener. Water softener is a popular treatment option in some households, but hard water isn’t necessarily dangerous so it’s not a key element for water treatment. 

Purifier

Water purifiers work to filter out sediments and chemicals, pathogens like bacteria and viruses, and heavy metals like lead and mercury. Some also add beneficial minerals to water as they purify it. Most hook up to the pipes under your sink to purify the water as it travels to your faucet, cost $100 to $150, and last several months before you need to replace the purifying mechanism, which runs about $60 on average.

If your water isn’t contaminated by things like lead and dangerous bacteria, you can get away with a filter rather than a purifier. Read on for your filtration options. 

Filter: For Drinking Water

If you’re just looking to filter out sediments and certain kinds of bacteria, you can make it with a water filter. As is the case with purifiers, you have a few size options. The amount of water you want to filter and for what purpose (just for drinking or for both consumption and bathing) will determine what kind of filter is right for your household.

For drinking water, you can get a basic dispenser-sized plastic holding and filter system with a gallon capacity for $30. You’ll need to replace standard filters (which run for about $20 for a 4-pack) every two months, or long-lasting filters ($10 each) every 6 months. 

A large gravity filter for drinking water will cost between $200 and $300. Gravity filters have a few more filtration mechanisms in them, average about 2 gallons a tank capacity, and are generally made of metal or ceramic. Some brands of gravity filters have been shown to remove pathogens and heavy metals that other basic filters are unable to capture, making them comparable to water purifiers. 

“Note: You can also make your own gravity filtration system. Grab a couple of buckets and a filtering mechanism, attach them at their bases, and stick a spigot at the base. Wallah!

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If these don’t appeal to you, you have the option of getting a filter that fits onto a faucet to clean your water as it is released. These cost $20 to $30 for basic models, and need to be replaced every few months.

Filter: For Bathing

To remove chemicals, sediments, and bacteria from the water you use to wash yourself, invest in a shower head or bathtub filter.

A shower head filter is not something you add to your existing nozzle — it is its own unit that you would use in place of a regular shower head. Some come with a separate filter that the nozzle attaches to, while others come with a replaceable filter that attaches to the front of the shower head where the water comes out. Bathtub filters, also called bath ball filters, attach to your existing spigot. Each of these systems cost between $30 and $80 depending on their lifespan and how quickly they filter water. 

When picking a filter, look at how many gallons per minute it will release. Some of these can greatly reduce your water pressure, so pick the one that will suit your needs. 

Filter: For Your Whole House

A tiny house with plumbing that runs to the kitchen and bathroom can be outfitted with a water filtration unit that filters your whole system. Depending on how the unit filters water, expect to pay between $700 and $1,200. These systems are built to process hundreds of thousands of gallons, so you could depend on one of these filters for many years before it wears out. Connecting to your pipes near the source of where your water flows in, you can actually easily install one of  these yourself if you’re not afraid to get your hands wet. 

Question: Which Appliances Use the Most Water — and How Do I Cut Down on My Use?

The biggest culprit is a washing machine. You will drastically reduce your personal water usage (and increase your available space) if you go to the laundromat or hand-wash your clothes. Toilets are obviously big water users too — up to 8 gallons per flush! — but a composting or incinerating toilet would reduce this to practically nothing. Showers with high-efficiency heads use 2 to 3 gallons per minute, so pick a good shower-head and bathe quickly. 

Running your faucet for a long time and leaks are huge wastes of water — accounting for up to 35% of your daily water use. Make sure to shut off the faucet whenever possible and keep your pipes tightly screwed in to prevent leakage.

Is there anything else I’ll Need?

There are some additional features you may want or need to complete your water-related hook-ups in your tiny household.

For appliances that will affect your water usage, see our article “Appliance Options for Tiny Homes”.