Making changes in the products we use, the food we eat and how we stay healthy and active can seem like a daunting task. Envii Water Butt Klear uses an organic blend of beneficial bacteria, including strains from our flagship product Envii Pond Klear. Therefore, this safe non-toxic cleaner targets the organics in your water butt that cause green water, foul smells and algae.

Water butts are not the only way you can collect the rain. You can get an estimate of how much mains water could be savedin a typical garden by following this link and pledging to make the switch from mains to rains. All these parameters have to be controlled as seriously as possible to determine the real antimicrobial activity of each sample. Use the water frequently, as replenishing the water with freshly collected rainwater helps to dilute the stored water and keep the water clean They are normally in liquid or tablet form and are able restore the natural balance in water by stimulating the micro-organisms found in rainwater. A one litre bottle will typically treat up to 20 standard-size water butts or barrels.When contaminated water is used in conjunction with a pump and a hose, the fine mist that is sprayed over your garden carries the bacteria into the air, via the water droplets, causing it to be inhaled by the gardener. Some of these products can be added to the existing water in your butts (providing it doesn’t contain any organic material). My personal opinion: I would be hesitant about reusing water that originally contained a huge bacteria load and smelt like rotten veg! Next, with the butt and stand steadily in place, you will need to drill a hole on the upper outside area of the butt where it faces the downpipe. The hole should be around six to 10 centimetres below the top of the butt and should be drilled using a suitably-sized hole saw or paddle bit. Many butts come with a hole already in place which has a temporary plug in it - this plug will need to be removed to accommodate the diverter feeder hose later in the operation. Ingredients: This product states that it is a ‘natural’ additive for water butts made from naturally organic, biodegradable, seaweed based liquid. Safe and effective water butt treatment for use outdoors in gardens; to treat household water, double dosage to 50 ml

Are garden water butts contaminated with Legionella Bacteria? Is Legionella lurking in your water butt? Allthough this product has been deemed to be safe and non-toxic the Safety Data Sheet does flag up some precautions that should be taken: Our mains tap water in the UK is of the highest quality, but plants don’t need perfectly clean water. As gardeners, we can help to avoid hosepipe bans in the future by using our water resources wisely. A significant amount of energy and treatment are used to provide safe water to our homes so using stored rainwater or grey water in your garden also lowers your carbon emissions.All credit for the jokes goes to corny joke specialist, blogger, pun inventor and fellow CMA member David Withington Comparatively, other water butt treatments use sanitisers or disinfectants to kill bacteria and clean water. Eventually, this is used to water your plants, introducing harmful chemicals into your soil, and making plants more susceptible to disease. A safe non-toxic treatment for stored water prevents unpleasant odours and unsightly scum whilst helping to keep the water free from slime and algae. Prevents green water, soap scum, keeping stored water free from algae and slime; following treatment, water is safe for watering garden plants, flowerbeds and lawns

Due to the reduced levels of bacteria in the water, Freshatank does not replace the need for usual regular maintenance. The steps involved will vary from one butt to another, depending on size and model - so it's essential to carefully read the instruction leaflet or manual that comes with the particular unit you buy. If you are using the water to water plants, keeping your water clean is essential. We can not stress enough how important it is to keep your water butt healthy. The issues surrounding the life of our planet are increasing and it is up to us all to make changes to lessen our impact. In the grand scheme of things we are only here for a small fraction of time; while we are here we need to look after the planet we have so that we are passing something great onto future generations. Product safety There doesn’t appear to be a Safety Data Sheet available for this product however, details on product testing is available here

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Minimising health risks from stored water The rainwater collected in waterbutts is not always very clean but with careful handling you can mitigate any risk to you or your plants' health. Public Health England carried out some research in 2018 and found that using water butt water in a 'watering can will mitigate Legionella risk, which is likely to be far outweighed by the benefits of exercise and outdoor activity' with these simple actions: Conclusion data from this study demonstrate that the viability of bacteria could be affected by different parameters such as a high stress, the porosity of the material, the natural desiccation of suspensions, the antimicrobial disposition at the surface, and the presence of surfactants. Cleaning your water butt with ESOL ensures that any bacteria that may be on the interior of the butt are eliminated. Recent investigations suggest 95% of UK garden water butts may be contaminated with Legionella bacteria, the bug responsible for the potentially deadly Legionnaires’ disease” Legionellacontrol.com Natural, safe, non-toxic water butt cleaner treats up to 6500 L of rainwater and household water, eliminating unpleasant smells

Make sure you keep the lid on securely. Mosquitos love warm, still water and would not think twice about laying their larvae in your collector. Mosquito bites are generally just an irritant but in some cases, can lead to infections or even worse, blood poisoning.Keep the guttering clear of debris as the organic material can encourage the growth of bacteria in the collected water