mps09 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Hi all, Just been round to the pre-school (not working - just walking past!! honest!!) to see our very long awaited and very lovely new wooden canopy which was been erected over half term. It is lovely, lovely lovely!! And the best thing is that it has guttering and a drain pipe and my plan has always been to install a water butt so that the children can have free access to the water supply to water the plants in the garden and to enhance their play, etc. directly from outside.. I was so excited when I saw it but now I'm having a mini panic about whether the children should be 'playing' with old rain water. I'm sure their will be some good comments or experience on this as usual ...... Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I would have thought that it won't get chance to be 'old rain water'! I don't see any problem with it at all, my children play with rain water on a regular basis, and to be honest, I'd never given it a thought. They have a pot on the path with paintbrushes in and 'paint' the path whenever they can! I regularly have to top it up with tap water as they use it so much - especially in the summer of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mps09 Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Thank you very much! That's what I like about this forum.... nice to check we're on the right track!! Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I would think that if you keep the water butt covered to prevent leaves, etc dropping in it shouldn't be too much of a problem. As a child I always played with water from my grandma's water butt and I survived! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upsy Daisy Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 You could always drop in a Milton tablet if it starts to get too green and slimey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 nice thought there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Hi, this was a worry of ours too but after a bit of research was told so long as the lid is on it shouldn't go slimey. The Milton tablet is a good idea but a HV pointed out that when we sterilize we always rinse afterwards but the kids would be playing ( and possibly ingesting it) so probably not much safer. Another tip we got was to put some chicken wire at the top of the gutter going into the butt to prevent leaves etc entering the butt. The children love the independence of accessing the water, turning the tap etc and understand the cycle of collection... Well worth the investment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upsy Daisy Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 The Milton tablet is a good idea but a HV pointed out that when we sterilize we always rinse afterwards but the kids would be playing ( and possibly ingesting it) so probably not much safer. You don't need to rinse Milton off baby bottles and as you would have a very weak solution in a large water butt I think it would be more akin to swimming pool water than sterilising solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublinbay Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I would have thought that it won't get chance to be 'old rain water'! I don't see any problem with it at all, my children play with rain water on a regular basis, and to be honest, I'd never given it a thought. They have a pot on the path with paintbrushes in and 'paint' the path whenever they can! I regularly have to top it up with tap water as they use it so much - especially in the summer of course! I agree with Cait. We have to fill our water butt every day so the water never does get 'old'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 any chance of a photo of the lovely wooden canopy or a link to where you got it from? We need to create outdoor all-weather cover and I've been looking at sails, umbrellas, canopies, awnings but they all make me feel sad at losing our natural garden space (we just moved in last September so it is all still new and the space isn't that big). Looking for ideas, and wooden sounds good (our building is wooden). If there's another thread showing ideas/companies/sources for outdoor cover, can someone point me in the right direction (I am new and can't always find what I am looking for!)? Thanks. We have a water butt and did have a problem with it going smelly last year, due to the leaves getting down the gutter. it's not in the main play area so I think the children didn't work out that they could access it freely. So the idea of chicken wire is good, or you can buy gutter guards (plastic chicken wire type things - they come in different sizes) for the full length of the gutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 You don't need to rinse Milton off baby bottles and as you would have a very weak solution in a large water butt I think it would be more akin to swimming pool water than sterilising solution. Thanks for that Upsy Daisy...I think our HV is little on the 'efficient side' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upsy Daisy Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Thanks for that Upsy Daisy...I think our HV is little on the 'efficient side' To be honest I don't think a bit of green water to play with would do them any harm anyway. In fact you could invent an investigation - how much water do you need in a container before you can see that it is green? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mps09 Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Thanks for all your replies!! Feel really excited now Sometimes I think we worry too much!! If I can work out how to post a picture I'll give it a try - although it might give away my identity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) whether the children should be 'playing' with old rain water. Thank you!! My youngest son used lie on his stomach to drink it from puddles. He's fine!! :wacko: Although I suppose a puddle could be considered 'fresh' Edited November 2, 2009 by Rea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 To be honest I don't think a bit of green water to play with would do them any harm anyway. In fact you could invent an investigation - how much water do you need in a container before you can see that it is green? we would just look at our fish tank!! Haha poor things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I saw one in a catalogue recently too, geared for children or perhaps that is just a way of upping the price. Think it was TTS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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