The compost heap is at a safe distance, you don't have a sandbox that is often used as a cat toilet, and yet unpleasant smells penetrate the terrace? The smell may be coming from your rain barrel. Unfortunately, this is often the case, especially in summer. Here you can find out everything about the causes and how to counteract them.
Why does the water in the rain barrel stink and what can you do about it?
If the water in your rain barrel stinks, this is due to putrefaction caused by bacteria. Avoid the smell by cleaning the bin, covering it, aerating it, using aquatic plants and replacing it with a wooden bin if necessary.
Causes
The smell from the rain barrel is the result of rot. The bacteria develop particularly well under the following conditions:
- Low oxygen content
- Pollutions
- Direct sunlight
- Wrong cleaning products
Low oxygen content
Putrefactive bacteria love an anaerobic, i.e. oxygen-poor, environment. The longer the water sits unused in your rain barrel, the more the oxygen content escapes. The same thing happens if there is no fresh water flowing in for a long period of time during dry periods.
Pollutions
If your rain barrel is in an unfavorable location, leaves often fall into the tub. In addition, algae form when temperatures are too high and the lighting conditions are too high. Also consider the bird droppings that get out of the gutter via the downpipe into the collecting container.
Direct sunlight
Heat increases the effect of stagnant water and also promotes the formation of algae.
Wrong cleaning products
Vegetable oil is a proven remedy against mosquito larvae in the rain barrel. Nevertheless, the home remedy reduces the water quality and spreads unpleasant smells.
Avoid the smell
- Use wooden bins instead of plastic ones
- Change water in dry periods
- Clean the rain barrel regularly
- Cover rain barrel
- Install aerator
- Aquatic plants
Use wooden barrel
While plastic is not breathable, wood promotes air exchange.
Change water in dry periods
You should replace standing water before it tips over. Sometimes just adding new water is enough.
Clean the rain barrel regularly
Remove algae, leaves and animal droppings from the rain barrel regularly. The best way to do this is to empty it before winter and prepare the bin again in the spring. But be careful, as mentioned above, not every cleaning agent is suitable.
Cover rain barrel
A lid on the rain barrel protects both from falling leaves and from the smell escaping. A fine-mesh grid also serves the former purpose.
Tip
You can read how to equip your rain barrel with a filter here.
Aquatic plants
Some aquatic plants and fish species deprive algae of nutrients and thus prevent their growth.
