Rain water health

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

And humility runs in your family...

Lol. Jk. I couldn’t resist. Your plants are quite lovely, as is your water storage.

---------- Post added at 12:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:59 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

To give you further ease, when I lived in KY, most houses in the area had underground concrete cisterns that collected rainwater off the roof for general household use - drinking, cooking and washing.

Shoot, that's what I do! We don't drink it though.

[estación seca]

I collect the water in Rubbermaid brand UV stabilized stock tanks. I have two 300 gallons and two 150 gallons. I can move them by myself. I store them behind the house; when rain is possible I move them into place. I try to empty them within 2 days after a rain to prevent mosquito breeding.

Then I use a sump pump and garden hose to pump the water to the storage barrels inside the sunroom, or the pond in the front yard. I put the T-shirt in a stainless steel deep frying basket and hold the hose as it emits the water through the basket and into the barrels.

I use the water plain or I mix it in a bucket with fertilizer or additives. I water seedlings with a spray bottle. I filter either the rain or the fertilizer/additive mixtures through a piece of paper towel in a funnel into the spray bottles. I carry the water in 5-gallon buckets into the house for the aquariums.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Harmful to orchids?

---------- Post added at 12:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------

I thought of that Camille. Because we have had a very dry month. And I noticed the water is much cleaner when we get regular rains.

So what thoughts do you have on how to purify that water? A tablespoon of bleach?

Not that I've noticed.

---------- Post added at 08:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 AM ----------

At the old place I used a 5 gal bucket as a combination filter/diverter. I ran the downspout through a hole in the lid of the bucket. I had a hole that I installed a bulkhead fitting in, and connected a ball valve and then an elbow that fed into the collection container. This was as low as possible on the side of the bucket. With the valve closed water would fill the bucket and exit out a hole that I cut higher up and installed a fitting that connected to standard downspout that directed water away from the house like normal. If it hadn't rained in a while I would close the valve to let the rain wash off the roof for a bit before collecting. I had some pond filter pads in the bucket, mostly to keep the grit from the shingles out. At the new place I have a metal roof, so I never bothered to reinstall the bucket.