Harvesting Rain: A Simple Guide to Using Rain Barrels

With all the issues of city water mains breaking and the possibility of droughts, we have decided to set up rain barrels on two downspouts of our house. Makes us wonder why we didn't do it sooner!

Have you ever considered how much water goes to waste when it rains?

Instead of letting all that water run off your roof and down the drain, you can collect it for your garden, lawn, or even washing your car.

On average, a 1,000 square foot roof can collect about 600 gallons of water for every inch of rain.

Using rain barrels is a simple and effective way to save water and help the environment. In this blog post, I’ll explain how easy it is to install rain barrels on your downspouts and how much water you can save.

What Are Rain Barrels?

Rain barrels are large containers that collect and store rainwater from your roof. They are usually made of plastic and can hold between 50 to 100 gallons of water. You place them under your downspouts, which are the pipes that carry rainwater from your roof to the ground. When it rains, the water flows into the barrels instead of going to waste.

Why Use Rain Barrels?

Using rain barrels has many benefits:

1. Save Water: You can use the collected rainwater for your garden, lawn, or other outdoor tasks. This reduces your need for tap water, which saves money on your water bill.

2. Help the Environment: By using rainwater, you reduce the demand for treated tap water. This helps conserve water resources and reduces the energy needed to treat and pump water.

3. Prevent Flooding: Collecting rainwater can help reduce the amount of water that runs off your property, which can prevent flooding and erosion.

   
   

How to Install Rain Barrels

Installing rain barrels is easy and doesn’t require any special skills. You'll need a hacksaw at the very least to cut the old eavestrough, which is (frankly) the funnest part. Here are the steps:

1. Choose Your Rain Barrels: You can buy rain barrels at garden centers, home improvement stores, or online. Make sure to get barrels that are the right size for your needs and fit under your downspouts.

2. Prepare the Area: Find a level spot under your downspouts where you want to place the barrels. You may need to clear away any debris or plants.

3. Install the Barrels: Place the barrels under the downspouts. You may need to cut the downspouts so they fit into the top of the barrels. Most rain barrels come with instructions and the necessary fittings.

4. Connect the Barrels: If you have more than one barrel, you can connect them with hoses or pipes so that when one barrel fills up, the water flows into the next one.

5. Add a Screen: To keep leaves and debris out of the barrels, place a screen over the top. This also helps prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water.

6. Make sure there is good drainage off the barrel as it rains. We found our barrels filled up quickly. We made sure the overflow water went out the front of the barrel, not behind, close to the house.

7. Elevate the barrels. Get a stand for the barrel; this allows you to put a pail under the spigot. We ran hoses right off the spigot.

8. Use the Water: Once your barrels are set up, you can use the collected rainwater. Most barrels have a spigot at the bottom where you can attach a hose or fill a watering can. There's not a lot of pressure, but it can fill a water jug pretty quick.

How Much Water Can You Save?

The amount of water you can save depends on the size of your roof and the amount of rainfall in your area. Like we said before, on average, a 1,000 square foot roof can collect about 600 gallons of water for every inch of rain. If you have two 50-gallon rain barrels, you can collect 100 gallons of water each time it rains. Over a year, this can add up to thousands of gallons of water saved!

Using rain barrels is a simple and effective way to save water and help the environment. They are easy to install and can make a big difference in reducing your water usage. Plus, your plants will love the natural rainwater!