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You are here: Home / Gardening / What are the Pros and Cons of Having a Rain Barrel?

What are the Pros and Cons of Having a Rain Barrel?

July 17, 2021 2 Comments

Those that already have a rain barrel installed at their home, will know that the pros and benefits are a lot more than the cons and negatives. However, there are still many that doesn’t have the rain barrel installed or that are just thinking about it.

What are the Pros and Cons of Having a Rain Barrel?

The moment that you know why this is something to consider, and knowing the pros and cons, you will be able to make the decision to purchase a rain barrel easier.

With these pros and cons, you will get to know why this is important to install the rain barrel. Why you need to make sure that this is something that you seriously are considering. These are everything that you need to know about having a rain barrel at your home.

Table of Contents

  • Pros: Great way to Get Additional Water
  • Cons: The Water Isn’t Clean Enough for Drinking
  • Pros: Great for Watering Garden
  • Cons: You can Struggle to Fill up the Barrel During the Dry Season
  • Pros: Save on Water Means Safe on Money

Pros: Great way to Get Additional Water

The most important benefit is that this is a great way to get additional water for your home. You can use it to water your garden, even if there are drought restrictions.

The water can be used for anything outside your home. You can use it whatever you need the water for. It can be for your garden, for filling up your pool, or for filling up the birdbath.

Cons: The Water Isn’t Clean Enough for Drinking

A con and problem to remember are that the water isn’t clean enough for drinking. Not without installing the recommended filters and cleaners. With a filter or cleaner, this is the only way that you can use the barrel inside the home as well.

And, then you will need to have a large barrel installed. And, with the larger barrel, you will need to make sure that it is connected to your home and that there are high-quality filters and cleaners installed as well. To ensure that your family doesn’t drink filthy rainwater.

Pros: Great for Watering Garden

As we said before, this is great for watering the garden. The water is full of nutrients and without any harsh chemicals that are harmful and dangerous to plants and that can delay growing.

Rain Barrel for Watering Garden

The water is all-natural. The only thing to remember is that if you are living in an area where air pollution is high, you need to consider using a filter. Even if you are just watering your plants with the rain barrel’s water. The cleaner the water, the more beneficial it will be for your plants.

Cons: You can Struggle to Fill up the Barrel During the Dry Season

During the dry season, you will struggle to fill up the barrel and to keep water inside. You will use the water more than what it will rain. By the end of the dry season, you might not have any water left for use.

This can be a problem, if you want to water your plants, even during the dry season. And, you will need to consider installing a bigger barrel that can take more water that will last you a lot longer.

Pros: Save on Water Means Safe on Money

When you save on water, it will mean one thing. That you are going to save on money. One of the most common reasons why people are installing rain barrels. They don’t always have the money to spend on the water. Water that is getting used for watering the plants and for other cleaning purposes.

With the rain barrel, you can still use water, without paying for it. By installing a rain barrel outside your home. You can use the money that you have saved on other, more important things for you and your family. And, always have water at hand. In the rain barrel outside filled with rainwater, ready to use.

It is important to know the pros and cons of having a rain barrel before you are installing it at your home. For some people, this is worth the money spent to purchase the equipment to install the barrel. However, for some, this isn’t really worth it at all. With the pros and cons, you will get an idea if this is something that you can use without any problems, or if this is something that you need to reconsider.

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Filed Under: Gardening

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Comments

  1. Kodiak says

    July 14, 2021 at 5:41 am

    Rain water can be safe to drink and use to cook. Boil the water and for 2-3 minutes and it’s disinfected. Honestly you can do so much with rain water.

    Reply
    • Jeremy L. Pierce says

      August 20, 2021 at 1:12 am

      Out here on the High Plains, often the farmers and pioneers would have cisterns dug to store the water in beside their houses. I asked my dad about using a water system like this. He said that you could figure that each person would use about 10 gallos per day, and the rainfall, say about 16 inches per year, so you could figure how large the roof of your house needed to be to keep you in water. They not only filtered their water using activated charcole as it entered the cistern and boiling it for consuption.

      Reply

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