@@ -55,12 +55,16 @@ For this reason if you want to drink it you MUST consider to filter it. An activ
### second issue: your roof isn't clean!
If you collect your water from the gutters, that's usually the best way to maximize your collecting surface, you must consider what the water can whash from your roof. Of course the kind of roof you have is also something you must take in account, but that's not the bad part. The bad part is that your roof is probably also the toilet for birds, and when you are harvesting rain you are collecting the water used to whash your roof from birds poo.
If you collect your water from the gutters, that's usually the best way to maximize your collecting surface, you must consider what the water can wash from your roof. Of course the kind of roof you have is also something you must take in account, but that's not the bad part. The bad part is that your roof is probably also the toilet for birds, and when you are harvesting rain you are collecting the water used to whash your roof from birds poo.
Bird poo in your water translate to high concentration of nitrates, and that pose a serious health danger. To remove them from your drinking water you will need to filter it in some way. Evaporation is not so fast nor convenient, but it works good. Another way is reverse osmosis, ion filters do the job as well. Activated carbon DOESN'T work for that, so, don't use it.
If you have time and at least two tanks, you can filter it slowly by gravity, but probably a pump to pressurize it and the right inline filter is more convenient ( but more expensive ).
A very great idea is to use a "first flush diverter", it's a fairly simple system ( so simple that you can even do it by yourself if you are smarth enough ) that diverge the first few liters of water when it starts to rain on a secondary track and avoid them to enter in your tank. As the vast majority of poo and things washed from the roof will be on the first few liters, this is an effective way to have a way better water in your tank.