You would say, once a Raintap is installed, the biggest question is whether you have enough rainwater to get through the drier periods. And, how to fill it as quickly as possible. Yet, creating some space in your rain barrel every now and then in summer is just as important. Below are 3 fun or useful ideas to empty your Raintap.
I don't know what it's like for you in the Netherlands, but here in Normandy, rain is hard to find in the weather forecast lately. Unlike previous years, this spring was cold and wet, but that has now come to an end. Dry and warm weather, that's the order of the day.
That's quite enjoyable of course, but weather will inevitably turn around. And, there's a good chance with increasing weather extremes that this will be accompanied by a heavy downpour.
In that case, it is important to ensure that your Raintap is well emptied or at least partially. You do this for three reasons:
- Every liter of water that does not end up in your Raintap, goes into the sewer, and can cause flooding or stress the sewer unnecessarily during heavy downpours. So it's better to buffer as much of such a downpour in your Raintap and thus, empty your Raintap a bit beforehand.
- Dry soil absorbs water much less easily than moist soil. During heavy rainfall, there will therefore be more erosion and more risk of flooding. If you empty your Raintap a day in advance (preferably into your garden) you make the soil a bit moist and prevent these problems from happening
- Water that has been in the Raintap for a while can of course become a tad dirty. Better to then first drain the water and refill the Raintap with fresh water.
Well, now that that's out of the way, we would like to suggest three ways to empty your Raintap quickly. So, if you see a downpour scheduled for tomorrow, go outside and open that tap.
Connect a soaker hose to the Raintap
To let the Raintap drain slowly and get the water exactly where you want it, you can use a drip hose or a soaker hose. Connect your drip or soaker hose to the Raintap, lead it to where you want the water, and open the tap.
Note: due to the low pressure, the soaker hose may give off less water than you're used to, but it definitely works. The soil gets nicely moist, ready to absorb even more water during that downpour. For us, the Raintap was at least half empty after 12 hours.
Wash your windows with rainwater
After such a period of drought, your windows may have become a bit dirty. Rinse off that dust and other dirt with rainwater. Advantage: it dries streak-free due to the lack of calcium and other minerals present in rainwater.
Hold a water fight with your children (or spouse)
Always fun, a wonderful water fight, but I always find it difficult to do that with tap water. Now you kill two birds with one stone. The rain barrel is emptied, ready for the much-needed buffering work. And you also have fun with the whole family.
Extra exciting is of course that moment when you have to refill your water gun. It makes for some easy target practice for the rest of the family while you're busy with the foot pump.
Unfortunately, last time we held a water fight, I was too occupied dodging my son's successful attempts at soaking me to the bone so I don't manage to make a video. I'll save that for next time. We are already hoping for another downpour and are busy plotting a surprise attack on the rest of the family.