Rain barrels are often made of plastic. Although this material is very inexpensive, plastic is not particularly weather-resistant and tends to have holes or cracks. If water runs out of your water butt through a leak, you still don't have to buy a new model. The hole is sealed in a few simple steps. Find out here what you need and how to proceed.
A hole in a plastic bin is not a big problem
Inappropriate methods
- duct tape or tape
- exclusive use of silicone
If you have discovered a hole in your water butt or there is a leak in the connection, you will certainly want to seal the spot as quickly as possible. So, as a first aid measure, you may resort to the next best thing you can find. However, the arbitrary choice of material will soon prove to be ineffective. Here two examples:
duct tape or tape
After a few days, the adhesive strip softened. Especially when a lot of water runs into the bin at once due to an increased precipitation rate, conventional tape gives in to the pressure over time.
silicone
Where silicone is often used in the household, for example in the shower, the material for sealing the water butt in the garden unfortunately fails. At least if you try it exclusively with silicone. Sealing with silicone simply cannot withstand the constantly changing temperature difference of the rainwater.
Which really helps
Nevertheless, silicone is an important part of an effective seal. However, a rubber seal mainly fulfills the desired effect. For durable waterproofing you will need
- A screw
- A rubber seal
- Some silicone
- lock nuts
Fix the rubber seal with the lock nuts and the screw from the inside in front of the hole. To be on the safe side, surround the construction with silicone so that every point is sealed. Nothing stands in the way of complete water extraction.
As a test, it is advisable to check the usability of the water butt after the seal has been attached by filling the container.