Rain gutters protect your home from damage by directing rainwater away to a designated location. But did you know that collecting rainwater by placing a rain barrel under your downspout can help the environment and save money? Here’s how.
What Is a Rain Barrel?
A rain barrel is a large container that collects and holds rainwater that has traveled through your gutters and downspout. You can use this rainwater to water plants, wash your car, rinse out recyclables, and more.
How Rain Barrels Help the Environment
- Obviously, using a rain barrel means that you conserve water. Conserving water means you don’t waste valuable freshwater resources, and it also means you conserve the energy it would take to treat and transport the water.
- Stormwater runoff pollutes nearby bodies of water because it picks up fertilizers, pesticides, and chemicals. These pollutants harm the ecosystems of these bodies of water. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that stormwater runoff be combatted with green infrastructure techniques such as rain barrels.
- Municipal water contains inorganic ions and fluoride, which can harm plants. In fact, fluoride can be toxic to plants and hinder photosynthesis. Rainwater doesn’t contain these chemicals, so using rainwater from your rain barrel will be beneficial for your plants’ health. Just be cautious about using water from your rain barrel on edible plants since the water can become contaminated with bacteria as it goes from the roof to the gutters to the barrel.
How Rain Barrels Save You Money
- Rain barrels lower your municipal water use, which lowers your water bill. A national survey given by DC Urban Gardeners showed that a rain barrel lowered summertime water bills by about $35 a month.
- Rain barrels can decrease erosion and flooding around your property, saving you the trouble of paying for damages.
Contact us at Express Gutters to learn about how the environment and your wallet can benefit from rain barrels.