We live in Northern Ohio. where hard freezing is common in the winter.
As a consequence, I disconnet and drain (almost completely) our three
rainbarrels in the winter. But because of sun exposure, algae develops
in the barrels, and is hard to remove and prevent.

The barrels are primarily to irrigate flowers, but also for a strawberry
patch and a squash patch. So a concern is that we don't harm our edibles.

I've read that painting the barrels helps as it keeps the sun out. One
of ours was a grape juice barrel, and is solidly blue, so the sun can't
get in. but two are translucent. I'm disinclined to paint them. as
paint doesn't stick well to plastic, and it's convenient to be able to
see the water level if they are unpainted.

I've read that applications of bleach will control the algae, but the
writers warn to not use the water in the barrel for a few days, when the
chlorine will have dissipated.

Are there other ways to keep the algae from growing and clogging my taps?

On 20/04/2015 4:45 AM, No name wrote:
We live in Northern Ohio. where hard freezing is common in the winter.
As a consequence, I disconnet and drain (almost completely) our three
rainbarrels in the winter. But because of sun exposure, algae develops
in the barrels, and is hard to remove and prevent.

The barrels are primarily to irrigate flowers, but also for a strawberry
patch and a squash patch. So a concern is that we don't harm our edibles.

I've read that painting the barrels helps as it keeps the sun out. One
of ours was a grape juice barrel, and is solidly blue, so the sun can't
get in. but two are translucent. I'm disinclined to paint them. as
paint doesn't stick well to plastic, and it's convenient to be able to
see the water level if they are unpainted.

I've read that applications of bleach will control the algae, but the
writers warn to not use the water in the barrel for a few days, when the
chlorine will have dissipated.

Are there other ways to keep the algae from growing and clogging my taps?

Put on really big taps and use non clogging sprinklers would be what I'd
suggest. I use non clogging sprinklers because the water for my garden
all comes from a farm dam water supply and there are always floating
bits of algal growth in it. We also use this water to flush our
toilets. My SO has found a frog in one of our toilet bowls. He thought
that was rather disconcerting. I thought it indicated a healthy dam
environment. Regardless, the frog was rescued and put outside.

The sprinkler I use and which has never given me any blockage problems
is here and is called the 'right-as-rain':
http://greenharvest.com.au/tools/spr...ment_prod.html

No name wrote:

....
Are there other ways to keep the algae from
growing and clogging my taps?

put something around the barrel that will
block the light would be one longer term solution.
often you can find pieces of wood for little or
no cost (pallets, brush piles, unwanted trees,
etc.).

if you clean the barrel to get rid of the algae
using bleach rinse the barrel out after you are
done and then let it refill (and then keep the
light out). it helps to scrub it a few times as
the bleach works through the layers of algae, but
we get things clean here within about a half hour
and then rinse the bleach away. usually takes
only a little bit to do it too, so don't pour a
gallon of bleach in when only an ounce or two might
work. of course, empty the barrel first before
putting in the bleach and scrub it around to cover
the surfaces and then let it sit for five or ten
minutes before scrubbing it again. after a few
rounds if there is still algae left, add a little
more bleach and scrub it again.


songbird

No name wrote:
We live in Northern Ohio. where hard freezing is common in the winter.
As a consequence, I disconnet and drain (almost completely) our three
rainbarrels in the winter. But because of sun exposure, algae
develops in the barrels, and is hard to remove and prevent.

The barrels are primarily to irrigate flowers, but also for a
strawberry patch and a squash patch. So a concern is that we don't
harm our edibles.
I've read that painting the barrels helps as it keeps the sun out. One of ours
was a grape juice barrel, and is solidly blue, so the sun
can't get in. but two are translucent. I'm disinclined to paint
them. as paint doesn't stick well to plastic, and it's convenient to
be able to see the water level if they are unpainted.

Tape a strip of masking tape to the barrels, then paint or solid stain them.
Remove the tape, and you can see the level, Orient the taped area away from
direct sun.

Most paint will not stick very well to plastic barrels.

A black barrel sized garbage bag over the top of the barrels would block the sun
for at least a few months..