DealDash Explains Rain Barrels
Do you have a rain barrel to capture rain to use on your lawn and garden? If not, it’s a smart way to conserve both water and money.
Have you ever thought about having a rain barrel for your home? Basically, a rain barrel is a way to collect rainwater that lands on your house and goes down your gutters so you can use it later. The idea is to place a rain barrel below one (or more) of the gutter spouts on your home and use a spigot to get the water. A rain barrel is easy to set up with some supplies that are available at Lowe’s or another hardware store. Please don’t use your collected rainwater for drinking. The rainwater can be used to water plants, water the lawn, or to wash your car or deck. Let DealDash explain rain barrels to you.
Where Will You Place Your Barrel?
You can place your barrel under any of the gutter downspouts on your home. However, there are definitely advantages and disadvantages of where you choose to place it. For example, most people would prefer to place their barrel on the back side of their house rather than in the front. Also, keep in mind that the rain barrel will be hundreds of pounds when it’s full of water, so you’ll want to place it in a place where it’s easy to access and in close proximity to where you will want to use the water.
What Kind of Barrel to Use
A rain barrel, simply put, is a barrel with a hole in the top that collects water from the gutter downspout on your home. The fancy ones have filtration systems, but if you’re just using the water to water your plants or the lawn that doesn’t really matter too much. You will want to be sure that there is a screen on the opening, though, so that no little critters decide to jump in for a swim.
You can pick up a standard 55-gallon rain barrel from Lowes or a similar hardware store. This is the best way to go about it, though you can get creative with a wine barrel or other large barrel that you have in your possession.
Catch the Overflow
A commercially made rain barrel will always have a spigot and/or drain valve near the bottom to connect a hose to or fill a bucket from. The rain barrel should also have a way to control overflow, this is quite important.
It’s important to control the overflow because if you don’t then the water is just going to spill out of the barrel when it’s full and it will pool around the foundation of your house, which isn’t good. You can either drill a small hole at the top of your rain barrel and attach a hose leading away from the house so when the barrel is almost full it will start diverting the water elsewhere – or you can even buy a second rain barrel and divert the water into it so you won’t lose any of the precious water that you have collected.
Thanks for Reading
Finally, thanks so much for reading this new DealDash article on rain barrels. Good luck in getting yours set up. It’s a great way to save money on your water and sewer bill for your home.
If you are getting your barrel at Lowes you’ll want to pick up a gift card on DealDash. DealDash has many different gift cards. Visit DealDash now to see how much you can save. Don’t forget to tell all of your friends about DealDash! Good luck and happy bidding everyone!
This blog was written by Dawn E, a mother of 3 who loves DealDash. Read even more at DealDashBlog.com, DealDashTips.com, or on her own blog, DawnBlogtopus.
