Cycleau Recycles Water Affordably Anywhere, From Baltimore to Tajikistan

Cycleau is one of the Promising Prototypes to Watch in 2025. See the rest.

Cycleau by LÆRO. Photo courtesy of Noemi Florea

Homes and buildings equipped with graywater treatment systems have a kind of cheat code to water usage. While the rest of us lose water down the drain, these systems give it a second use that depends on the level of treatment. Sometimes graywater flushes toilets, sometimes it waters lawns. The downside is these systems are expensive if they’re not installed at the time of construction.

A compact water reuse system in development now may solve the affordability problem, and it can treat graywater to make it clean enough to drink. The system, Cycleau, by the design studio LÆRO, turns a sink and faucet into a graywater reuse system. It has a drop-in design meant to avoid expensive retrofits to provide affordable clean water, especially for low-income families and underserved communities.

LÆRO has two commercial pilot projects set to launch this spring. In April, Cycleau will be installed alongside a rainwater harvesting tank and a public water fountain outside a community center in Northwest Baltimore, a collaboration with the City of Baltimore aimed at improving local water access. And in June, UNICEF will deploy ten Cycleau units in rural health centers and schools in Tajikistan, testing the system’s impact in communities with limited access to clean water.

“Both deployments are geared towards humanitarian aid and serving communities most impacted by divestment and the lack of reliable water infrastructure,” Noemi Florea, LÆRO’s founder and CEO told Engineering for Change by email. “Following these pilots, we’ll be absorbing user feedback to improve our product, while expanding our commercial reach into other sectors including off-grid housing and eco-lodges.”

How Cycleau Works

Cycleau is a unit measuring 30cm by 60cm (one foot by two feet) that can be retrofitted below sinks, showers, and laundry units to transform graywater into drinking water. The system processes graywater through four stages of filtration and disinfection, effectively treating over 200 contaminants:

Bed Media Filtration: Large particles are filtered through sand and activated carbon, improving the appearance and taste of water.
Membrane Filtration: Fine membrane filters remove smaller particles; Cycleau uses two filters for enhanced treatment.
UV Irradiation: Ultraviolet light deactivates any remaining bacteria or pathogens in the filtered water.
Heat Recovery: The system conserves more than 40% of the energy generated by building water heaters.

Easy installation and operation

Cycleau is designed for easy installation. It fits existing spaces without tearing down walls or floors, which by LÆRO’s reckoning can cut nearly the entire cost of installation compared to a traditional graywater treatment system.

It is also easy to maintain. Filtration systems can demand extensive upkeep, but Cycleau has aimed for an intuitive, human-centered design. It requires minimal maintenance, it has automated processes and an easy-to-use interface that needs no training to operate. LÆRO puts the maintenance cost reduction at 80%.

The bottom line? Each unit costs $350, with annual maintenance costs ranging from $50 to $100 for filter replacement.

It takes a village

Cycleau has the support of dozens of partners and funding organizations, and it has already made media appearances despite its status as a prototype in development.
Notable supporters include UNICEF Innovation, where Noemi Florea was selected to join UNICEF Innovation30: Young Innovators Shaping the Future.; MIT Solve, where Cycleau was a part of the Climate Adaptation and Low-Carbon Housing Challenge; The Swarovski Foundation, where Ms. Florea is an alum of their Creatives for Future program; and many others.

The pitch

Ms. Florea makes the pitch for Cycleau. See the video: