Does using drinking water for watering your garden seem absurd to you? Do something for the environment - and your wallet - by installing a rainwater harvester in your home. Key tips.

While our planet is being put to the test by its inhabitants, every little daily gesture counts. Especially when it comes to water, an increasingly precious commodity. Why not install a rainwater collector at home and promote, if only on your own scale, ecological and sustainable gardening?

Why harvest rainwater?

There are several reasons why you might want to install a rainwater harvester in your home. First of all, from a very practical point of view, this makes it possible to carry out real money savings because you don't always think about it when you turn on your tap, but drinking water has a cost, and an increasingly high cost.

In addition to your wallet, the environment will also thank you. By using the water that nature makes available to you, you will not put pressure on groundwater and thus contribute to the preservation of water resources . You can also store it and anticipate periods of drought and potential water restrictions that can be a gardening enthusiast's nightmare!

The rainwater collected in this way is certainly not drinkable as it is, but it is soft, non-calcareous and therefore perfectly suited to watering of you plants . You can also, if you wish and depending on the size of your water collector, use it for washing your car and your floors, for the toilets and even the washing machine.

How to collect rainwater easily?

Two solutions exist for the rainwater harvesting :

• A outdoor or aerial water collector , connected to one of your gutters, for use limited to watering the garden. The container can be between 200 liters and 2,000 liters depending on the exterior surface to be watered. As its name suggests, the collector collects water from the gutter, which is filtered before joining the collector. A tap located at the bottom of the tank allows very simple use of this rainwater. This recuperator can also be equipped with a pump to be able to connect it to a garden hose or a high-pressure cleaner.
• A buried tank , for larger uses, which will hold up to 10,000 litres. You can then make real water savings by connecting to your home's water system . Be aware, however, that this will require earthworks, and that a declaration to the town hall will be compulsory if the water used is discharged into the collective sanitation network. You will also need to indicate that the water is not potable next to each toilet and tap that will supply this collected water.

How to collect rainwater without a gutter?

No secret, without a gutter, it will be difficult to collect rainwater efficiently and in sufficient quantity. But there are solutions, such as flexible tanks offered by the company Ducielôpits , which will transform a dry well, the underside of a raised terrace or any disused cavity into a rain collector by installing a coated canvas.

How to collect rainwater on a balcony?

It is also possible to install a rainwater collector on your balcony if a gutter is present there; you just have to ask the authorization to the union council of your building and ensure that your balcony will be able to support the maximum weight of the chosen collector.

Source journaldesfemmes.fr