A rain barrel is a great tool for saving water and saving money. You also can save some of our natural resources using a rain barrel. But once you have a barrel in place you’d like to make the most of it, and one way to do that is to use a diverter to help get as much water as possible. Here is a look at the advantages of using a diverter with a rain barrel.

Rain Barrel Diverter – 3 Tips For a Better Rain Barrel
By Graham Allmanson

One of the easiest “green” things we can do is often overlooked. Rain water collection is both easy and helps to reduce municipal water usage.

If you live in an area with an abundant rainfall, you should collect rainwater. You simply place a rain barrel under your downspout and let nature do the rest. Few people know how much water you can collect from your rooftop. If your roof measures 1,000 square feet (20 feet by 50 feet), you can collect as much as 600 gallons of water with a rainfall of only one inch!

While rain water collection happens without any real effort on your part, there are three simple things you can do to improve your rain water collection efforts.

1.Make sure your rain barrel has a filter attachment. A filter at the intake portion of your barrel prevents debris from collecting and will also help prevent mosquitoes from breeding in your collected rainwater. Mosquitoes breed in standing water.

2.Get a rain barrel that allows for a hose attachment. Most come with a hose attachment or spigot to allow for easier water retrieval. It is much easier, and more efficient to attach your hose to a spigot at the bottom of your rain barrel than to open the top and fill a smaller bucket.

3.Attach a rain water diverter to your downspout. Rain barrel diverter kits are inexpensive and alleviate the problem of water pooling at the base of your container. This can occur when the water collected exceeds the capacity of your rain catching receptacle. A diverter is attached to your downspout above the barrel and works by allowing the overflow water to run through your downspout and out the waste channel as it was originally designed, after your barrel has been filled.

In the United States, 70% of water our is used for gardens and lawns. Rainwater collection is an obvious solution to the issue of needing to reduce water consumption. It’s easy and it’s free.

If you are interested in purchasing a rain barrel… You can find additional information about buying a rain barrel diverter along with other water harvesting devices and more interesting ideas about water reclamation. You can find a great selection of water collection products, along with lots of FREE information and tips to help you to harvest and utilize rain water at: http://rainbarreldiverter.com

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