Harvesting rainwater

[ChanellG]

A few months ago I started collecting rainwater in little containers I had on hand. A good or so of rain yielded about 2 gallons of rainwater that I mainly used for my indoor plants. About a month ago someone recommended using a blue storage bin. She said blue plastic leaches the least amount of chemicals and was also best for a homemade compost bin.

At the moment, I only set my rain bin out when the forecast calls for rain, so plastic sitting in the sun/leaching isn't really an issue, but eventually I plan get a large trash can I can fit with mesh to keep the mosquitoes out. I store the rainwater in plastic water jugs and mark them with a sharpie so they are never confused with drinking water.

As I expand my growing, I know I'll need to collect more water. Do any of you collect rainwater?

 

[claudine]

I collect rainwater. I have a large container. It's very old, it has been in the garden since I remember. I played in it as a kid, I was pretending that my dolls are taking a bath . Using rainwater to water plants is a great idea to save some money.

 

[Jed]

I've collected rainwater for drinking in 200 litre juice concentrated drums in the past. You could buy them from juice manufacturers for $5 as they found it cheaper to do this then sending them back to the source.

 

[dhrynio]

We collect rainwater into food grade barrels that are sold here, but we take them from our meat factory for free. They look like this but have a special top to connect to the gutter spout. They warm in the sun and I fill my water cans from them!

 

[ChanellG]

@Danni, what did they contain before you got them from the meat factory?

@Jed You drink rainwater??? Everything I read says not to do that and claims rainwater has to be chemically treated before it's okay for consumption. Though it is interesting that it's okay for plants and fish ponds.

We have a lot of citrus growers nearby, but I am not sure about juice manufacturers. I'll have to look into though because those drums look great! I know someone who is looking for one and I bet if I put her on this, she'll locate a source.

 

[Hedonologist]

I recently converted over to a water meter, so getting a water butt made financial sense, also it will reduce my dependency on the grid somewhat. I have a friend who constructed a system to divert some of his rainwater into his cistern for use as graywater, I don't think the savings outweighed the cost of implementing the system, but it still made him more self sufficient.

 

[ChanellG]

I can see the sense of using some rainwater as graywater, you can wash clothes with it, do dishes, mop the floors, even flush the toilet. I'm sure it will pay off over time as long as he can collect enough water.

What's a water butt?

 

[claudine]

I'd be afraid of doing dishes with rainwater. It's not so clean, especially if you live in a big city. I'd be scared of the chemicals in it

 

[ChanellG]

Well, there are chemicals in your drinking water from the tap. That's why you have to let tap water sit for 24 hours before using it in a fish tank. What's in the water depends on where you live. Across the lake from here, there is sulfur in the drinking water. It comes out of the tap smelling like rotten eggs!

I read recently that rainwater doesn't have the chlorine or the minerals that tap water has, which has me wondering about the processing and why they would add minerals. I can't see how it would be a problem to wash dishes in rainwater when you water food plants with it. If there were harmful chemicals in it, they would be in your soil and food also.

That's why the arsenic thing is such an issue right now with rice and apples and products that are sweetened with brown rice syrup.

 

[dhrynio]

Those barrels were used to store clean and prepped natural intestines for sausage casings. They have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized at the factory after they were emptied and when I brought them home I cleaned them again. I also did a bleach soak in them for a day then rinsed them each 5-6 times.

 

[Hedonologist]

Well, there are chemicals in your drinking water from the tap. That's why you have to let tap water sit for 24 hours before using it in a fish tank. .

It makes you wonder how harmful tap water could be to you if fish can't have it straight from the tap. That's why I let my tap water sit for 12-24 hours before drinking it usually. I heard that it gives the chlorine time to evaporate.

 

[ChanellG]

It makes you wonder how harmful tap water could be to you if fish can't have it straight from the tap. That's why I let my tap water sit for 12-24 hours before drinking it usually. I heard that it gives the chlorine time to evaporate.

I now run tap water and let it sit before watering the indoor plants, that is when I run out of rainwater to use. I purchase bottled water to drink, usually distilled, though sometimes I get mineral water.

@Danni, all I can say is "wow!" LOL

 

[claudine]

I don't drink tap water either but I give it to my roses sometimes and they grow beautifully so I guess in my area tap water isn't so bad . I wouldn't be so sure about rainwater though. I use it mostly for my outdoor plants. Although my grandmother used to wash her hair in it and according to her it was the best (but it was many years ago, now the area is more polluted)

 

[ChanellG]

Claudine I think it depends on how hard the water is where you live. Some people live in places where there is arsenic in the water or some other chemical compound that might be problematic. Some of these things are found naturally in those areas, and some have been made worse by industrial manufacturing.

I have used tap water my entire life for watering, but I read something recently that said orchids did better on bottled (distilled I think) and I found I had good results using bottled water with my other indoor plants (the orchid didn't make it, but I think it may have had an issue already when I brought it home).

Pollution amounts and types vary in different locations as well. But I doubt the rainwater in my city is any more polluted than the air I breathe everyday. I guess it's more incentive to grow plants that help clean the air.

 

[Lanie]

I drink my tap water no problem. It tastes better to me than bottled water. I like this thread because it reminds me that I need to obtain some large containers to collect rainwater, which I haven't done for years. I agree that it's a good way to conserve this precious resource and save some money too!