Anonymous wrote:I already have a sprinkler system installed. Can I use that with a rain barrel?

You can hook up a soaker hose to a rain barrel and put it on a timer. There are systems you can get to pump rain barrel water to a sprinkler or drip irrigation system under pressure, but they are $$$ and you'll need some place to plug it in. Meant for large scale water reservoirs, so unless you have a several rain barrels daisy-chained and collecting 100s of gallons it's kind of a waste. We have 2 x 55 gallon barrels on our property and use them for spot watering, washing cars, etc. We never clean them out during the season, not sure where that advice is coming from. The only maintenance is in early winter when we disconnect and empty them before the chance of a hard freeze. Once every two years I'll turn them upside down and spray out the inside to dislodge any residue that has sunk to the bottom.

We've never washed our rain barrel. You don't use it right after it's rained; you wait until your garden needs water.

It would be hard to work with a sprinkler unless elevated to get more pressure. It can work will with drip irrigation.

I already have a sprinkler system installed. Can I use that with a rain barrel?

Why would you need to wash the barrel after every rainfall?

You're supposed to wash them after every rainfall? Seriously? We just installed ours about two months ago. We definitely have not washed them. We use the water to water the vegetable garden and other plants.

Anonymous wrote:MY experience with harvesting rainwater is:
1)Maintenance of barrel is untenable, and
2) when there is rainwater in the barrel, that means we have had a lot of rain! And I don't need the water in the barrel for watering the garden!

IF you could use the water for something else, like, washing the car or the dog or ... ?

And I am very earthy/water-usage conscious.

How so? What am I missing that I should be doing to my rain barrel?

MY experience with harvesting rainwater is:
1)Maintenance of barrel is untenable, and
2) when there is rainwater in the barrel, that means we have had a lot of rain! And I don't need the water in the barrel for watering the garden!

IF you could use the water for something else, like, washing the car or the dog or ... ?

And I am very earthy/water-usage conscious.

Should post to gardening forum.

Is this a reasonable thing to do in DC? Seems like you can get two barrels installed by the city for $45 each, which seems ridiculously cheap, but the maintenance (wash them after every rainfall?) seems untenable.

Anyone have experience in DC area with this?

Thanks