Rain Barrels

[marla]

So my friend was telling me about this new rain barrel she got and how excited she is about it to save money on watering her garden. When I got back, I did a bit of research about them online and it appears to that there are a lot of people using them these days. I must be behind the curve.

Would someone be willing to explain the concept in a little more detail of what they are mainly used for and where I can get one? Is it better to get them online or at local warehouse club? Do they attract a lot of bugs? How does the water stay clean?

[noppenbd]

We have one that we bought online because the location for it is highly visible so we wanted it to look decent. However, there are many many sites which tell you how to build your own. If you are not mechanically inclined you can find them in the $50-75 range.

The idea is that you divert one or more of your gutter downspouts into the top of the barrel, thus providing free nonpotable water. We use it primarily for watering container plants around the porch and inside the house. The water does get a little cloudy and is definitely not for drinking or even washing. However, it doesn't smell at all, unless you stick your face right in the top of the barrel. We also got these little doughnuts that break down and prevent mosquitos from breeding in the water. That is a must where I live. I just put one in every couple of weeks.

[LuxLiving]

Hi Marla, I wrote a post w/some decent links on this in my blog during May:

http://luxliving.savingadvice.com/2008/05/07/acid-rain-no-im-queen-of-the-mist_38709/

For me mine is an old covered trash can. When it rains I take off the lid. When it's dry weather I cover it w/the lid to keep the mosquitoes down. So far this is working great.

[Cylenchar]

Rain barrels can be as simple or as complicated as you want. My family would use the gallon ice cream cartons to catch rainwater from the gutters and then strained it into a big container inside. When I get a house, I plan on getting a horse trough, or something along theose lines to hold rainwater because I live in a drough area and want a vegetable garden....