Rainwater can be harvested locally and free of charge in almost any location around the world. It can be used for any domestic purpose which does not require drinking water quality. By using rainwater, the average household can reduce its consumption of tap water by approximately 50 %. You can use rainwater for:
Rainwater is inherently soft and free of calcium and magnesium, properties that make it ideal for laundry processes: there is no need to add any water or fabric conditioner - your washing comes out soft and easy to iron. Calcium deposits which make textile fibres feel stiff and rough are a thing of the past. And the washing machine is better protected as well - using rainwater completely eliminates those mineral deposits which lead to higher power consumption and may damage the washing machine.
Using rainwater to do the laundry is hygienically safe provided that the rainwater harvesting system has been professionally planned in accordance with DIN 1989. Some people who suffer from allergies even prefer rainwater because their skin reacts to the chlorine that is often added to mains water as a disinfectant.
Thanks to the absence of calcium and magnesium in rainwater, your toilet cistern will no longer be harmed by the problem colloquially termed "limescale". The seal in the cistern remains intact - limescale deposits can damage the seal causing a continuous trickle of water into the toilet pan. Last but not least, by using rainwater, you are refusing to be one of those people who flush perfectly good drinking water down the toilet!
If you have a separate, specially labelled tap for filling your mop bucket, you can use rainwater for cleaning and wiping surfaces. You can cut down your use of cleaning agents and your cleaned surfaces will be sparkling and "streak-free" when they are dry.
