rainwater harvesting

[MaryLou]

I am interested in harvesting rainwater from the roof of my house.
I am looking for a place to buy rain barrels with out having to pay an arm and a leg.
Some folks here in the Waco area have bought used 275 gallon tanks.
They had contained "mild soap" but have been pressure washed.
Anyone have any idea if these barrels are safe for using the stored rainwater on my organic garden?

Any ideas on getting other barrels?

[Nadine]

If they have been washed well, I would think they would be all right for watering a garden. Sometimes we add just a teaspoon of soap per gallon as a surfactant. I do not think this would be any different. Do you know what kind of soap was in them? As long as it was not antibacterial, I believe it should be fine.

One thing to remember is when purchasing any items used for the collection of rainwater, tell the person that you are using it to harvest rainwater. Any items purchased for harvesting rainwater is sales tax free.
http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/RainwaterHarvestingManual_3rdedition.pdf