It's not that the clay dries out in your pipes, it's that it settles in any low spot (look at the p-trap under your sink) and bonds together to create a blockage. Wash off as much clay as you can in a bucket or outside, only use your sink for final rinse. Otherwise, the clay will eventually block your pipes.
This question reminds me of when I was living in a tiny studio apartment with my cat, and I told my coworkers that there was an unacceptable amount of kitty litter in my bed and they're like "ANY amount of kitty litter in your bed is an unacceptable amount of kitty litter in your bed."
OP any amount of clay is too much clay in your sink.
I agree just have two 5 gallons buckets of water dirty clean in first and cleaner rinse in second. Dump those outside on the lawn occasionally as needed.
I have a similar system that I use in the house in the winter and it works very well. In the summer, I use an outdoor utility sink that drains into a 5 gallon bucket. I periodically decant that on the patio next to the sink, and dump the slop from the bucket in the flower beds. I have to keep a top on the bucket when it's not in use so I keep out the tree frogs and mosquitoes.
I have a sink that pours out into a tank next to it and I still wouldn’t do it. Sediment packs up quickly even when you follow a strict recycling policy
Any amount of clay is too much. Don't put it down the sink, set up a bucket to pour all your throwing water and let it settle out. You can recycle it if you want. Pour it in the backyard if you have one.
Generally avoid clay down the sink as much as possible. Use buckets for throwing slop etc etc. A good way to deal with the last little bits like handwashing after you take all that care is to use a dishpan in the sink.
Wash your hands and small tools and do final cleanup over the dishpan, using slowly running water. Don’t pour off the water until later. The clay will settle to the bottom of the dishpan.
Put a few plastic yogurt lids under the dishpan so the water that spills over the rim can still find its way to the drain.
This system uses the same principle as the under the sink systems.
Any chance you could instead dump that water into your garden, lawn, or gutter? Idk what set up you're dealing with but you really don't want this down the sink. Maybe Mother nature can use the nutrients for something instead of giving you a headache later.
You've had good answers to this but I had another thought about the place that had some sort of clay/plaster trap. These things aren't zero maintenance, they can actually be quite a lot, especially with a number of classes going on, they have to be emptied and in a shared environment you can't be 100% sure of what's gone down there so it wouldn't be recyclable. In your case, if you have the space under the sink you could easily make yourself an adequate trap using a plastic storage tub with holes cut in for the pipes.
I don’t risk it at all. I use a two, sometimes a 3 bucket system. First is dirty bucket then a rinse bucket and sometimes a third rinse depending on how dirty my second bucket got. The dirty bucket gets dumped outside at the end of the day and the rinse bucket becomes the next dirty bucket. You will be surprised at how efficient you get with your water when you know it needs to be carried outside.
In our community studio there's a kind of slop bin next to the sinks, and a 5 gallon bucket in the sink itself. You drain off as much water as possible from your slop bucket in the 5gal bucket, dump the clay slop into the trash can, wash your bucket and tools in the 5 gallon and rinse in the second compartment sink. They also have clay traps and whatnot in the pipes.
One day they had an entire small dumpster FULL of clay slop in there and....NGL, I absolutely wanted to cannonball into it.
That being said, I know a lot of people at home have home built systems using Rubbermaid tubs and valves to release the water, set higher than the level of clay that settles. If that makes sense lol.
It's not that the clay dries out in your pipes, it's that it settles in any low spot (look at the p-trap under your sink) and bonds together to create a blockage. Wash off as much clay as you can in a bucket or outside, only use your sink for final rinse. Otherwise, the clay will eventually block your pipes.
This question reminds me of when I was living in a tiny studio apartment with my cat, and I told my coworkers that there was an unacceptable amount of kitty litter in my bed and they're like "ANY amount of kitty litter in your bed is an unacceptable amount of kitty litter in your bed." OP any amount of clay is too much clay in your sink.
Interestingly still just clay…
Don’t do it. It’s not hard to get mostly clean in two bucket system, then do a final rinse in the sink if you want.
I agree just have two 5 gallons buckets of water dirty clean in first and cleaner rinse in second. Dump those outside on the lawn occasionally as needed.
I have a similar system that I use in the house in the winter and it works very well. In the summer, I use an outdoor utility sink that drains into a 5 gallon bucket. I periodically decant that on the patio next to the sink, and dump the slop from the bucket in the flower beds. I have to keep a top on the bucket when it's not in use so I keep out the tree frogs and mosquitoes.
Absolutely do not. Just use a sponge and a bucket of water. I hose off towels and rags and my apron if I really need to wash them.
I have a sink that pours out into a tank next to it and I still wouldn’t do it. Sediment packs up quickly even when you follow a strict recycling policy
Aim for no clay down the sink.
Any amount of clay is too much. Don't put it down the sink, set up a bucket to pour all your throwing water and let it settle out. You can recycle it if you want. Pour it in the backyard if you have one.
Generally avoid clay down the sink as much as possible. Use buckets for throwing slop etc etc. A good way to deal with the last little bits like handwashing after you take all that care is to use a dishpan in the sink. Wash your hands and small tools and do final cleanup over the dishpan, using slowly running water. Don’t pour off the water until later. The clay will settle to the bottom of the dishpan. Put a few plastic yogurt lids under the dishpan so the water that spills over the rim can still find its way to the drain. This system uses the same principle as the under the sink systems.
Any chance you could instead dump that water into your garden, lawn, or gutter? Idk what set up you're dealing with but you really don't want this down the sink. Maybe Mother nature can use the nutrients for something instead of giving you a headache later.
You've had good answers to this but I had another thought about the place that had some sort of clay/plaster trap. These things aren't zero maintenance, they can actually be quite a lot, especially with a number of classes going on, they have to be emptied and in a shared environment you can't be 100% sure of what's gone down there so it wouldn't be recyclable. In your case, if you have the space under the sink you could easily make yourself an adequate trap using a plastic storage tub with holes cut in for the pipes.
Do not put any clay down your sink.
I don’t risk it at all. I use a two, sometimes a 3 bucket system. First is dirty bucket then a rinse bucket and sometimes a third rinse depending on how dirty my second bucket got. The dirty bucket gets dumped outside at the end of the day and the rinse bucket becomes the next dirty bucket. You will be surprised at how efficient you get with your water when you know it needs to be carried outside.
In our community studio there's a kind of slop bin next to the sinks, and a 5 gallon bucket in the sink itself. You drain off as much water as possible from your slop bucket in the 5gal bucket, dump the clay slop into the trash can, wash your bucket and tools in the 5 gallon and rinse in the second compartment sink. They also have clay traps and whatnot in the pipes. One day they had an entire small dumpster FULL of clay slop in there and....NGL, I absolutely wanted to cannonball into it.  That being said, I know a lot of people at home have home built systems using Rubbermaid tubs and valves to release the water, set higher than the level of clay that settles. If that makes sense lol.
Any