Rain Barrels

Rain barrels are an eco-friendly way to save rainwater for later use, such as watering your garden or even flushing your toilets. Along with this benefit, you can use a rain barrel to reduce soil erosion and save money on your water bills. While many rainwater tanks are plastic, you can also find them in decorative rain barrels or other materials such as wood, metal and terra cotta.

When setting up your water barrel, make sure it’s covered and tightly sealed to prevent mosquito infestations and the chance of the rain barrel becoming a drowning hazard for small children or animals. It’s also important to secure your barrel to the ground so it won’t easily tip over. To keep debris and small animals out of your collected rainwater, you can add a large mesh screen and a second, finer screen to the mouth of the barrel’s storage tank. By keeping these screens clean and in place you’ll be able to keep your rainwater clean, as well.

Get started on saving up your rainwater with rain barrels in dozens of materials, sizes and designs from Houzz.