Monday, March 12, 2012

Collecting Rainwater with Rain Barrels


Rain barrels are another way you can water your garden, flush your toilet, store it for use during a drought, and it helps to redirect heavy rainfall away from your house foundation.

There are as many uses as there are types. Rain barrels are simply large containers used to hold rainwater that pours from a downspout. No matter which container you select, it needs just a few essentials to make it work:
  • Inlet area from the downspout that filters through a screen
  • A faucet
  • An overflow hose
  • A raised base on flat ground
They can be made easily from a used food quality 55-gallon container, or they can be a water engineers sophisticated toy. But when it comes to the bottom line, they all basically work the same way.

Paul James from HGTV did this segment on his program.


(YouTube link)

Here are a few examples of what can be done.

 Using a recycled food container

A professionally made barrel

Using a Rubbermaid Trashcan

You can link barrels together to add capacity.



Rain barrels can also be decorated with paint like these. You can use Krylon® Fusion Spray Paint for Plastic®. There are 16 colors to choose from. You can also use an outdoor acrylic paint, such as exterior house paint, to paint your barrel. Use up old paint from past projects.







Here are some directions on how to paint the barrels, and some recommendations from this site. This YouTube demonstrates how to use grasses to create stenciled images.

Several sites offer directions on how to assemble them, and many cities offer workshops on  how to put them together. They are a good idea, and it's really catching on.

1 comment:

Sharon said...

There are many ways collecting rainwater could improve the cost of living, especially if you have a garden you need to maintain. You already enlisted most of its benefits, but you missed out the fact that it could help you lessen your expenses with water bills. But then again, I guess that should goes without saying. Thanks for encouraging more people to adopt this practice!

Sharon Strock @ StormChamber®