Back in the old days when the ozone layer didn’t really have a huge hole in it and acid rain was practically unheard of, rainwater was collected and used for drinking purposes. And no one really got sick. But today, with all the pollution, you can’t really use rainwater for drinking purposes or for personal purposes at that. But rainwater is something that you can use for other purposes such as cleaning your driveway and watering plants. It’s a great way to save on utility bills and conserving our fresh water supply.

The easiest way to collect rainwater is through barrels or container drums. All you have to do is to place it below a drain spout. If your drain spout leads to underground sewer, you can trim the drain spout with a hacksaw so that the container fits perfectly below to collect the rainwater.

A few caveats with this method is that first, if you are using container drums, be sure that they never contained toxic waste. You can get discarded drums that used to contain vegetable oil, these would be perfect for rainwater collection use. All you have to do is wash it with warm water and soap. Another caveat is that you should place a cover on barrels and drums when you don’t expect rain. Stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Intricate collection systems can be made eventually if you are really serious about it. You can do some piping that would connect a series of containers. You can eventually design it as a dispensing unit by fitting more pipes and faucets.

Rainwater today contains several chemicals like dust, ions, even biological traces like animal feces. While these may prompt you not to use it for personal purposes, rainwater can still help you with other tasks that do not necessitate super clean water like gardening.