Rain is more common in tropical countries. In the Philippines, we have a rainy season that spans from the month of June to November. Since rainwater is plenty during the rainy season and this is the perfect time for rainwater collection. There are various ways how to utilize rainwater for different purposes in our homes.Â
Farmers in many parts of the world use rain to water crops and water animals. This irrigation method is called rainwater harvesting. Rainwater harvesting is a type of water conservation, instead of using more water to irrigate crops.Â
But do you know that you can also harvest rainwater and use it in your home? Here is how you can do it. We at Shoppiverse PH, listed some ways how can we use rainwater inside our homes
1. For toilet use
If you have unused drums or a bigger container you can store rainwater in it and use it for flushing the toilet. Aside from flushing the toilet, you can also use rainwater as regular water to clean the whole bathroom just use a bleach solution with an antibacterial feature to gain better results. This is perfect if you are living in a location that constantly raining. Instead of letting it be wasted and flow on the ground you better use it in toilets.Â
2. Watering plants
Rainwater contains traces of nitrates, which are essential for plant growth. These are natural form of fertilizer that is beneficial to your plant. Aside from that, it contains more oxygen than tap water. So using water that came from the sky is indeed a blessing for people who are used to gardening.Â
It's like hitting two birds with one stone you save to reduce your water bill and make your plant healthier at the same time.
3. Car wash or Motorcycle Cleaning
Instead of using the water from our faucet and contributing to the water bill. Why you don't use water collected from rain? Another great uses of rainwater is for cleaning your car. Make sure to filter first the collected water to avoid debris such as small stones or metallic objects that might cause scratches or small dents to your cars.Â
4. For BathingÂ
Using the rainwater for bathing purposes is extremely safe as long as you properly store the rainwater away from light. Rainwater that is exposed to sunlight can inhibit the growth of algae so better hide it from the sunlight.
Typically the rainwater becomes dirty or contaminated due to improper ways of collecting it. To avoid contaminants make sure to use only a clean container and use a water filter using a clean cloth made out of polyester or a clean t-shirt made of the same fabric will do.
5. Drinking
If you are living in rural areas and there is no pollution in the area. Drinking from rainwater is perfectly safe as long as it passes through a decontamination process.Â
How can we drink rainwater?
Make sure that the items used in the collection of rainwater are properly cleaned. The rainwater must be also filtered to avoid debris mixed with the water. I remember during my childhood we were stricken by typhoons and there was no water available in our area. As an alternative, we use rainwater as a source of drinking water. My mother used a clean t-shirt made out of polyester fabric to filter the water dripping from our nipa hut roof and then boiled the collected water to kill the microorganisms.Â
It is not advisable to get rainwater in cities to be used for drinking because it can be contaminated by acid rain. Consuming acid rain can cause brain damage over time so better avoid it.
To store rainwater for a longer period you must avoid it being exposed to sunlight because it inhibits the growth of algae making the rainwater unusable.
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In summary:
Rain harvesting during the rainy season is beneficial for you in terms of reducing your water bill. But the most important benefit is you become part of the rain water conservation methods. This will be a great help to reduce the dependability of our water reservoir. The level of water easily drops during summertime so it will be a great action to save water when we have still plenty of it.Â
