Saturday, January 10, 2009

Why Go For Rain Barrels



If you have long been wondering about rain barrels and how to go about having a few of them around your home, we have some words of advice for you. The fact of the matter is that rain barrels are really quite simple things at the core, and you really do not need to have a degree in rocket science to have your own rain barrels at home. At their most basic, rain barrels are really just containers that are used to collect and store rainwater. Given that, it does not really have to be any kind of fancy contraption. This is why you will often see rain barrels that are made from nothing more than everyday items that you can find in any home such as steel containers, old barrels, oversized jars and similar receptacles. The inexpensiveness and easy availability of these containers also makes them favorable options.

What you will want to make sure of however is that your rain barrels are made of a suitably heavy and opaque material that does not let any sunlight in. Sunlight entering your rain barrels can cause the quick buildup of algae, resulting in clogged pipes and an unattractive appearance.

So why should you consider having rain barrels at home? Well for one thing, the rainwater that you will be able to collect with rain barrels can be quite useful to have around the house. All of this water can be put to good use thereby lessening your reliance on your mains water supply. The savings that you will realize from this reduced mains water consumption can really add up to quite a lot of money in the long run. Rain barrels will also help protect your home by lessening the amount of water that goes into the ground and can potentially weaken your foundations.

The water that you do collect in your rain barrels can be used in a wide array of tasks such as washing cars and lawn furniture, watering your plants, cleaning gardening tools, bathing pets, and so much more.

Even fairly large rain barrels can be filled up quite quickly by a good strong rain. If you want to collect even more rainwater, you can have more rain barrels around and even link them together.

Finally, you will want to make sure that you have adequate filtration for your rain barrels. This will help you maintain the cleanliness and purity of your rainwater, making it suitable for a wider variety of tasks.



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