Has anyone done a rain barrel and if so do you recommend them? I received info on this from our local forest preserve, and it sounds like they could be worth doing but I'm not sure. The rain water collected is mineral rich and good for your plants and flowers plus this is saving water you'd take from your tap so it is better for the environment. But I wonder how they work and what happens once they're full? Do you have to keep fiddling wiht it so that it doesn't overflow and create a huge mess? It also says they're safe around children, but I'd need to be sure of that with my own 2 year old and a ton of kids in my neighborhood. My husband doesn't want to deal with it but I think he doesn't see the positives. Any feedback?
Thanks!
K.
I got mine from the City of Chicago, you can go their Environment page or here's a link, if you need more info, send me a message.
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalConten...
Ace hardware carries a big, black plastic one that is fantastic! It has a very secure lid and I feel comfortable having it around my child and his older nephews. Don't worry about it getting full - I think this would be impossible unless you lived in Seattle! You will be using the water for your garden during the spring and summer when it rains the most so it will go out as fast as it comes in. There is a lot of info about this online and several websites have various models, but not many retailers carry them. Ace is really the only place we found one within our price range.
Good luck!
T.
We have a few...one at the house and one at an outbuilding. They are connected to the downspout and then have an 'overflow' valve that goes back into the downspout. So, a no-brainer on what to do when they get full.
We water our garden with them all summer. Just make sure you get them on a couple of cement blocks so gravity works in your favor when you are filling up watering cans.
There is no danger around kids - the tops are screened (so the water can get in) but they are also screwed on so that they aren't easily taken off. Your biggest danger is the kids opening the valve/faucet and draining all your water (but they could do that with your house faucet, too). With our rain barrels, the faucet is kind of hard to turn so I don't think that would be an issue.
They are very low maintenance and so much better for the environment. We were lucky - a kid in environment sciences installed them for us. Would yours come with installation or would you have to do them yourselves?
If they were a lot of work or unsafe, they wouldn't be so popular.
My parents use them and I have been looking for one. I love them. They don't get full to the point of overflowing, unless you were on vacation for a long time. They are so useful for the environment too. The only problem is they are expensive, don't know how much ace has them for, But my parents got them from their city and it has saved on their water bill, my mom is a huge gardener. I'd love to hear where you get yours if you decide to and how much they were.
K.
