| Author | Content |
3gardeners
Mableton, GA (Zone 7a)
May 22, 2008 2:17 AM Post #4986056
| Hey. I have several rainbarrels and I put mosquito dunks in them to keep out the mosquito larva.
One barrel in particular had a horrible odor and my daughter convenced me that their must be a dead animal at the bottom. It has no lid, so this is possible. (Just had 3 squirrels die in a small bucket of water, so now we are looking for screened lids.)
Anyway, I dumped 55 gallons of rainwater and no dead animal. I'm glad, but needed that water!
My question is this: What could be making the water smell so terrible?!
There was a very small bit of pine straw (maybe a handful) and some dirt at the bottom, but no algea or anything else. Not only am I wondering what could be causing the odor, how can I fix it? Are there any type of deodorant tabs or odor eaters out there for rainbarrels? With the growning number of people using them, I sure hope so.
Thanks for any help! |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
May 22, 2008 10:39 AM Post #4987079
| Did it smell like decaying material ~ rotting leaves & pine straw? Was it possible the barrel came to your house with an odor?
I don't know of anything to help remove the odor from water that won't also affect your plants. I will suggest if you don't find a lid that fits, try fiberglass screening. It is cheap and lasts forever. I cut a piece large enough and use a bungie cord or two around the rim. If a squirrel should land on it, it won't let go and it will also filter out the trash. It is a darker color and prevents as much algae from growing in water also. Just a suggestion for a quick fix. |
garden_mermaid
San Francisco Bay Ar, CA (Zone 9b)
May 23, 2008 1:06 AM Post #4990403
| Can you describe the odour? Was the odor one of sulfur, mold/mildew, methane (the garbage dump smell)?
I personally would try adding some EM culture to a stinky rainbarrel. EM has cleaned up quite a few polluted areas and waterways (like ponds that turn green and stinky). We use the harvested rainwater for the garden, so a littel EM culture in the water would only be beneficial. |
3gardeners
Mableton, GA (Zone 7a)
May 23, 2008 3:26 AM Post #4991090
| Showing my ignorance...what's EM? |
roybird
Santa Fe, NM
May 23, 2008 4:27 AM Post #4991303
| Dropped by because I have the same problem. Mine get a sulfur smell sometimes. What is EM? I use the water on the garden, too. No complaints from the plants. |
garden_mermaid
San Francisco Bay Ar, CA (Zone 9b)
May 23, 2008 4:31 AM Post #4991311
| LOL! Sorry 3 gardeners...I've been so busy learning about the many varied and wonderful uses of this probiotic culture that I sometimes forget it's not a common household item...yet!
EM stands for Effective Microbes or Effcient Microbes, depending on which producer you buy it from. EMEric has been a great resource on the Bokashi and EM threads.
Here is a link to an interesting video on how some folks in Japan used EM to clean up pollution in the Seta Inland Sea:
http://www.emamerica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=b...
Here are some thread from the Soil & Composting forum that will give you further info on how we are using it.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/802294/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796403/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/821756/ |
LiliMerci
North of Atlanta, GA (Zone 8a)
May 27, 2008 2:55 AM Post #5008160
| Doesn't sulfur smells like rotten eggs. I remembered our well water smelled like rotten eggs while we took our showers but we didn't smell like it later, only while the water is running. |
thrasherfour
Rome, GA
March 27, 2012 1:09 PM Post #9059383
| I'm having the same problem with my rain barrel water. It smells like sulfur! I am planning to add some beneficial pond bacteria and maybe some barley straw.
While researching this issue online I found that websites that sell ponds also sell rain water collection systems and rain barrels and that made me want to try the beneficial pond bacteria. I don't know why this wouldn't work since the water in rain barrels have a lot of the same problems with algae as do ponds. And I'm sure it is the algae that is causing the stinky smell. I'll let you know how it goes! |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
March 27, 2012 5:31 PM Post #9059692
| Interesting to see this older thread surface again in springtime.
A younger man that we know lives off the grid and harvests rainwater for household use. ( not for drinking. )
Last year he taught me that pollen that gets washed off the roof and out of the air will ferment in the rainbarrel and get stinky. He says he waits till the pollen count lowers and there is a pending rain. He will dump his rain barrels (usually in the garden spot) and collect fresh rainwater to eliminate the stinky water.
I use my for watering the plants primarily so don't worry as much about the odor but y'all might try dumping and collecting fresh... Kristi |
steadycam3
Houston Heights, TX (Zone 9a)
March 27, 2012 5:43 PM Post #9059702
| I made a cover for one of my "open top" rain barrels by sewing with fishing line the fiberglas window screen onto a hula hoop I got at the dollar store. I like to keep one open top barrel so I can dip water for some things and I first used bungee cords but they were inconvenient to take on and off, hence the hula hoop. I just lift it up and dip and put it back in place. I was worried about one of the neighborhood's cats falling in and I can see how a thirsty squirrell might meet the same fate. The screen/hula hoop will support the weight of a grown cat so I can rest easy. |
podster
Deep East Texas, TX (Zone 8a)
March 27, 2012 6:01 PM Post #9059726
| Clever implementation. I will remember that. |
jujubetexas
San Marcos, TX (Zone 8b)
March 29, 2012 6:14 PM Post #9062479
| Mine gets stinky when it doesnt have enough bacteria to eat waste that comes off the gutters.
Ammonia is produced from waste and is eaten by a bacteria that then creates Nitrite. Nitrite is then eaten by another bacteria that then produces Nitrate. If you dont have enough of a certain bacteria, it will produce that smell. The same thing happens in aquariums, lakes and oceans.
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