I am thrilled to have my friend, Barb Hoyer, guest posting today. She has some great tips on setting up a rain barrel system without spending a lot of money. Enjoy!
According to Better Homes and Gardens each inch of rain that falls on a 500 square foot roof, you can collect 300 gallons of water. 300 gallons x $.007 equals $2.10 which may sound like chump change unless you remember that quite a few vegetables need an inch of water weekly during the growing season. Rain water is free after all, and setting up a rain barrel doesn’t cost much.
Our Set Up
Our rain barrel system is very basic. We’re using a 32 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck trash can ($15.4&) purchased at Home Depot about 4 years ago, gutter supplies left by the previous home owner, and new supplies (under $10) purchased at Home Depot.
We set ours up in a spot where we had a water issue. Because of the combination of 2 sloping roofs next to each other, this spot was usually a water fountain when it rained. The adjoining roof has some water damage not to mention the mossy growth on the side of the porch.
My husband installed a short piece of gutter along the side of the aluminum roof and attached a down spout to it. He tied into the existing porch roof support made from cast iron. We set the rain barrel in an area of the driveway which we don’t use for parking.
To keep the kids out and the mosquito population down, we keep a lid on the barrel with a few loose bricks on top between rain storms. Since it is standing water, we put about a tablespoon of bleach in from time to time to kill the mosquito larva. I’m not happy about the bleach, but it works.
Improving Our Rain Barrel Set Up
While our set up is very minimal and inexpensive, I would like to improve on the design. First of all, I’d like to cut a hole in the lid for the water to enter. Not only would the lid stay on, there’s less chance of the kids playing in the water or a stray squirrel ending up in the water which has happened.
Next, I would lay a piece of landscaping fabric under the lid to prevent mosquitoes and debris from entering. Our biggest issue with the rain barrel are the mosquitoes. Having the screen would reduce them and prevent the kids from dropping debris in the rain barrel.
Finally, I would cut a hole in the side high enough for a watering can to install a spigot. Both myself and the kids could fill up the watering can or watering bucket and carry it around the garden.
I’m also hoping I can persuade my husband to set up a rain barrel on the other side of our home where we have similar issue with excess water coming off the roof.
Barb is a mom of 5 kids who spends her day keeping track of socks, stuffed animals, library books, and a 4 year old when she isn’t writing about all the frugality, gardening, cooking, and reading she manages to fit in between the chaotic moments. She can be found at A Life in Balance or Frugal Local Kitchen.
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Great tip, Barb! Now if only I had a garden 🙂
I never knew that trick about the bleach. We get so many mosquitos with standing water that this has made me nervous. I think we need to give it a try though! We spend too much money watering the yard and garden in the summer 🙁
A rain barrel is on my must do list for this summer. Also considering composting!
I am SO glad you wrote this post because like Heather, it is on my to do list! Great system!
I love our rain barrels! Sounds like a great idea to have a screen and spigot…hope you’re able to install those sometime soon as that would make it pretty perfect! Thanks for sharing your idea!
This is on my future home list!
This has been on my t0-do list for too long, but I was worried about the standing water issue. I didn’t realize bleach would do the trick!
love this idea! good idea to keep the mosquittos away and a lid on the can. we look at rain barrels every year at the home store but never buy one, maybe we will make one this year.
That is so smart!
Love having a rain barrel – it does save a bunch of water.
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