SAN DIEGO -- In San Diego County, every drop of water counts, and one Clairemont man believes he has one solution to save this precious resource.

When Greg Reddick uses his garden hose to water his plants, the water he's using is recycled from his washing machine.

"I would say most people don't realize how much water goes down the drain," said Reddick. "It blew my mind."

Reddick showed 10News just how much water is used by the washing machine. He filled up his washer and then drained the entire tank into a 55-gallon clear plastic drum.

"After the rinse cycle even more water is wasted. [It's] over 50 gallons of water," said Reddick.

Reddick said each household does an average of 400 to 600 loads of laundry per year. This means each household pours about 20,000 to 30,000 gallons down the drain.

However, the Reddicks recycle what's called "gray water" from the washer.

"You have 50 gallons to use anytime," said Reddick. "You just go down and turn on the valve."

Reddick said first got the idea a few months ago. He lost his job a year ago and has used his extra time to build a website and create a few prototypes and advertisements.

He said he wants to find a company that can mass produce his product and sell it throughout the southwestern states that are suffering from a water shortage.

"Maybe San Diego can give a rebate to buy a water recycling unit like they would for the toilets and those kinds of projects," said Reddick. "It can go really far."

Reddick said the soap will not affect the plants because the soap will be diluted in 50 gallons of water. Also, by law, all detergents are made biodegradable.

"If everybody did this," said Reddick. "There'd be a ton of water saved every year."

At the same time, the business would create a new job not just for Reddick, but for many others.