Why Buy a Rain Barrel?

Wood Barrel Information and Care
Plastic Barrel information and Care
Barrel FAQs

There are so many reasons how you can benefit from purchasing a rain barrel (or from making your own!) Water restrictions are already the norm in some areas of our country and most everyplace has experienced a drought. In our area, as a consequence of aging water pipes, many communities experience days without municipal water. Both too much and too little are a disaster. And we all pay for both types of disasters. Anyone can collect rain, at very little expense in its simplest form, by tossing a water tight container out into the next rainfall. Or, one can get very sophisticated. Roll Out the Rain Barrel offers barrels that everyone can understand and use easily to get started right away on making a difference! If you want a more complex rain catchment system, we have the professional connections to do that too!

Rain Water Collection Facts
Photo Gallery
Testimonials

Benefits of a Rain Barrel

  • It is one of the easiest and most cost effective methods of helping our planet.
  • Free refills! Save money on municipal water bills and qualify for rebates.
  • It conserves fresh water and reduces demand on the public water supply.
  • It reduces erosion and flooding caused by turbulent storm water runoff.
  • Make your plants happy! Plants prefer non-chlorinated water.
  • Using collected rain water to slowly irrigate your lawn allows the water to be absorbed back into the groundwater rather than run into the street and on into the streams.
  • Reducing runoff reduces water pollution.
  • It allows for watering even during a drought.

Collected Rain Water Uses

  • Watering lawn and garden
  • Watering during a drought or water restrictions
  • Watering indoor plants
  • Rinsing outdoor furniture, toys, deck, porch, patio, driveway and sidewalks
  • Washing exterior windows
  • Flushing toilets when the municipal water system is shut off
  • Washing cars
  • Curtailing rain water from around your foundation

Resources
100 Ways to Save Water

Rain Water Collection Facts

  • Plants prefer rain water since it is warmer than tap water, non-chlorinated, fluoride free and the nitrogen content provides a slight fertilizing effect.
  • It conserves fresh water – 50-70% of total household water is used for lawn, garden & other outdoor activities and less than 1% of all fresh water on earth is available for drinking.
  • It reduces erosion and flooding. The volume from storm water undercuts creek beds, exposes sewer pipes and uproots trees.
  • It reduces storm water runoff contaminants from polluting our tributaries. The majority of land area in our urban environment is covered with non-permeable surfaces such as buildings, driveways, roads and parking lots. Turf grass is almost as impervious due to its shallow root system and inability to absorb much volume. The runoff from these surfaces contain pollutants.
  • The storm water flowing over these impervious surfaces takes on their heat and pollutants, thus increasing the temperature of the water that flows into the streams. This increased temperature, in turn, affects every living thing downstream. We are ALL downstream from someplace.
  • 15% of the Chesapeake Bay’s pollution is attributable to urban runoff.
  • For every one inch of rain, a typical quarter acre lot can only absorb 1800 gallons; the remaining 5000 runs off.
  • In a typical rain storm more than 1250 gallons of water run off the roof of a typical home. That is enough to take 17 baths or 58 showers!
  • This fertilizer-heavy runoff is the cause of the rise of hypoxia – a lethal drop in oxygen levels in water whereby fish and plant life can no longer survive. These “dead zones” in US watersheds are 30 times more expansive today than in 1960.

*Government statistics (EPA, US Dept. of Agriculture, US Geological Survey, VA Institute of Marine Science and MD Dept. of Environment)

Photo Gallery

(click image to view larger photo)


Testimonials

“I was extremely happy with Roll Out the Rain Barrel as they provided a beautiful whiskey rain barrel and matching stand.  They installed quickly and thoroughly and my newborn and I enjoyed sitting outside and watching the process.  It’s so easy now to save rain water and use it to water our yard and garden beds.” — Sarah Cook

“My new rain barrel (the converted wine barrel version) is so nice looking that I felt like its surroundings deserved an upgrade. The folks at Roll Out the Rain Barrel suggested a custom plant box that would also provide the privacy screen I’ve wanted for a long time. They made it so easy. Their construction division, Handyman Services of Chevy Chase, provided detailed drawings, built the whole thing, including a upgraded Rain Barrel stand, and arranged the topsoil delivery and filled the box. Then they helped me pick plantings that are now watered from the barrel. Voila–a formerly unattractive area next to my carport now greets me with life and loveliness every time I come and go.”  — Pat Esslinger