Help protect the environment by buying rain barrels
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by: georgewonderman
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Rain water that is typically lost to runoff, streams or sewers can be collected from your roof and stored in rain barrels. Typically rain barrels are made of a 55 gallon drum, a vinyl hose, PVC couplings and a screen grate. It simply has to be positioned underneath the gutter of your roof and it will collect the rain water while it is pouring.
Rain barrels are efficient for the purpose of water harvesting and conservation. 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. Rain water collected on your roof can be collected in a rain barrel and put to good use. It can be used for many purposes like watering the plants and the garden or washing your car. 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. During peak summer months, a rain barrel can collect about 1,300 gallons of rain water.
The benefits of using rain barrels not only include the cost cutting on water expenditure. It provides soft and natural water that is good for the plants. Rain water is also very good for washing cars since it contains no dissolved minerals like chlorine, calcium or lime. Rain barrels can be used at locations where it is inconvenient to have a spigot. Rain barrels can provide you with water when it is most required like in drought months. 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.
The rain barrels should be kept securely covered to prevent the hazard of children or pets falling into it. Also, the water in the rain barrels should not be used for cooking, drinking or bathing. If a moss killer or some other spray has been used on the roof then a couple of initial rainfalls should not be collected. 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.
Rain barrels can be constructed at home but the equipments require technical skills besides being 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. Related topics Cascata rain barrel | How you make a rain barrel | Decorative rain barrel | Rain barrel |
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Information on rain barrels, stop in at www.palmettorainbarrels.com.
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