With concerns over water scarcity on the rise, companies are increasingly looking to give people ways to reduce their water consumption. For Hydraloop founder and CEO Arthur Valkieser, the answer was clear: Build a device that gives homeowners and building developers a way to sterilize and reuse their water.
Hydraloop’s namesake product is about the size of a refrigerator (except much flatter) and hooks into your home’s existing water system. Once installed, it’ll take in outgoing wastewater and process it in multiple ways: Think sedimentation, flotation, dissolved air flotation, and foam fractionation. That treated water is then processed by an aerobic bioreactor, and finally disinfected with UV light.
That… is admittedly a lot to take in, but these sorts of treatments are regularly used in combination and large-scale water treatment facilities. And after the treatments are complete, the resulting clean water springs forth from the Hydraloop to be reused in toilets, washing machines, pools and even in the garden. But what do you actually stand to save?
A bit of Valkieser’s math suggests that a four-person household taking daily showers, using the toilet regularly and using a standard washing machine for clothes could save up to 20,000 gallons of water per year. That’s not just good for the environment — it’s good for your wallet, too.
Of course, at $4,000 per unit, Hydraloops aren’t exactly cheap. But those recurring monthly water savings should help recoup that initial investment over time. And honestly, with the earth in the condition, it’s in today, $4,000 might be a small price to pay to know you’re doing your part.
