Help protect the environment by buying rain barrels

Rain water that is typically lost to runoff, streams or sewers can be collected from your roof and stored in rain barrels. Rain barrels generally consist of a 55 gallon drum, a vinyl hose, PVC couplings and a screen grate. They can be placed below the gutter down spot of your home and collect water during the rains.

Rain barrels are a good way to harvest and conserve rain water. Using rain barrels serves the twin objective of reducing the cost of water usage and also helping during shortage of water. When used correctly the use of rain barrels can provide you with a barrel full of water in a good season. A rain barrel can collect the rain water pouring on the roof which can be later utilized around the house. The collected rain water can be employed in maintaining your garden and flowers or washing cars or windows. It is possible to store as much rain water annually that can suffice for one summer on the basis of the number of rain barrels used. A typical rain barrel can save close to 1,300 gallons of water during the peak summer months.

Using rain barrels have a lot of benefits like saving money on the consumption of water. It provides soft and natural water that is good for the plants. Rain water is untreated containing no chlorine, lime or calcium and therefore really good for the garden and washing your car and windows. The use of rain barrels is apposite in places where a convenient spout is not located. In dry periods when water is in short supply, rain barrels make for a good provision of water. Not to mention that using rain barrels is a great way to conserve rain water which is one of the most abundant natural sources of water.

Care has to be taken that rain barrels should be kept covered with a secure lid so that children or pets do not fall into it. Also, the water in the rain barrels should not be used for cooking, drinking or bathing. In case any kind or spray or medicine is used on the roof, then the barrel should not be used in the first few rains. To make the spout readily reachable, the rain barrels should be kept at a height for convenience. Multiple barrels can be used to increase the storage capacity. They can be connected with one another to be able to collect and store more rain water.

On a different note, even though rain barrels can be constructed at home some of the tools needed are quite specialized and expensive. It is a time consuming process and it is important to get all the parts right to make the rain barrel effective. On the other hand, rain barrels are easily available these days so one can save up on their time and energy.

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