Draining and storing rain barrels before the freeze

Winterizing · 8 min read

A rain barrel asks for about half an hour in the fall, and in exchange it does not split down the side in January. The whole job is four verbs in the right order — drain, divert, clean, store — and most cracked barrels trace back to one of the four being skipped, usually the draining, or to the fifth unspoken one: a downspout left pointing at a disconnected barrel all winter, pouring meltwater against the foundation it was supposed to be carried away from. This guide gives the full sequence, a simple framework for deciding where the barrel spends the winter, and the spring reconnect checklist that most guides leave as a single vague sentence.

Why ice cracks a barrel that looked fine in October

The mechanism is not cold itself; it is the water left inside. When water freezes, it expands, and in a closed or nearly full barrel that expansion has nowhere to go except outward against the wall, the seams, and the fittings. Extension guidance puts it in seasonal terms: drain the barrel before the first hard frost or freeze, because repeated freezing and thawing of water in the barrel throughout the winter can weaken the material and cause cracks that show up as leaks. A second source aimed at homeowners states the same point more bluntly — draining is essential before the first freeze of the year, because expanding ice will crack the structure of the storage tank.

The fittings are as vulnerable as the barrel. In cold climates where temperatures stay below freezing for days at a time, the threat extends to the spigot, the tubing, and the hose and other attachments. Water trapped in a spigot body, a diverter hose, or an overflow line freezes in a small, rigid space, and those small parts are often where the spring leak appears even when the barrel itself survived. That is why the procedure below removes and stores attachments separately instead of leaving them mounted on an empty barrel outdoors.

One more fact shapes the work plan: a full barrel is heavy. University of Kentucky guidance notes full barrels can weigh 400 pounds or more, and a 50-gallon barrel is put at over 400 pounds at capacity. Draining is therefore also the step that makes every later step — tipping, scrubbing, carrying — physically possible for one person.

Decide where the barrel spends winter

Storage is a decision framework, not a single instruction, because garages and basements are not universal. Work through it in this order:

Indoor storage is repeatedly described as the lifespan-extending choice — garages, sheds, and basements are all named as excellent places to store a barrel during winter, and storing indoors elongates its lifespan compared with leaving it out. Outdoor storage is acceptable when it follows the full inverted routine in the table; outdoor storage done as “leave it where it stands, but empty” is the version that still cracks, because an upright empty barrel outdoors is a vessel waiting to collect the next rain or snowfall.

The drain, divert, clean, and store procedure, step by step

1. Use the water first, on a mild day before the first hard freeze. Water the perennial beds, trees, and shrubs, or wash tools and patio surfaces. Starting early means the barrel is not still half full on the first genuinely cold night, and the work is done in gloves-off weather.
2. Drain what remains through the spigot. Open the spigot and let the barrel empty completely. When the flow stops, tip the barrel carefully — empty, it is light — to pour out the last water sitting below spigot level, and leave the spigot open once this step is complete, so no trapped moisture is sealed inside the fitting.
3. Disconnect the barrel from the downspout and diverter. Detaching may need pliers or a screwdriver, but it should not require excessive force; check first whether the barrel attachment is latched onto the downspout. Disconnect the feed hose from the diverter as well, and plug the diverter hole where the design provides a winter plug or cap — that detail varies by diverter, so follow the fitting in front of you rather than forcing a part.
4. Restore winter downspout flow — do not skip this step. Reattach the length of downspout that was removed for the barrel, or attach a temporary extension to the downspout, so snowmelt and winter rain are directed away from the house and sidewalks. Extension guidance is explicit on the point: reconnect the rain spout to direct water away from the house foundation when the barrel is not in use, and arrange drainage so overflow in service also runs away from the foundation rather than beside it.
5. Remove every attachment. Take off the lid, spigot if it unscrews, tubing, hoses, and the inlet screen, and store the components separately from the barrel. If an above-ground hose or soaker hose was connected, remove it and drain the water from it before storing it, coiled, under cover.
6. Clean the empty barrel — the next section. This is the only moment all year when the inside is both empty and reachable.
7. Dry, then store by the decision above. Let the barrel dry, then turn it upside down or cover it for storage, indoors if possible. If it must stay outside, raise it off the ground, keep it out of direct sunlight, and secure it against wind.
8. Check the base while the barrel is off it. Inspect the foundation or platform periodically and confirm it remains level and solid; a base that heaved or rotted over summer is far easier to fix now than under a full, 400-pound barrel in April.

Cleaning while it is empty

The Extension sequence is straightforward. Drain the barrel completely and remove any debris from inside. Use a long-handled brush to scrub the inside with water and detergent, then rinse with clean water. Clean the inlet screen separately and regularly — organic matter on the screen blocks drainage into the barrel — and rinse the spigot area, where grit collects. Where algae or odour is present, Wisconsin Extension guidance adds a rinse with a dilute bleach solution, a rinse after bleaching, and one disposal rule worth copying exactly: dispose of the bleach water in a household drain, not on the garden. If the barrel has no algae or bacterial buildup, a simple rinse is sufficient and the bleach step can be skipped entirely. Either way, do not store a barrel that is still wet and dirty inside; sealed dampness over winter is how the spring barrel comes out smelling worse than the fall one went in.

Remember what this water is. Rain barrel water is not potable and should be used for irrigation only; in the vegetable garden, direct it to the soil rather than the foliage, and wash produce thoroughly. Keep the barrel covered in service to prevent children, pets, and vermin from falling in and to keep it from becoming a mosquito breeding site — the screen and lid that come off for cleaning are the parts that make that true, which is why they are stored carefully rather than tossed in a corner.

What success looks like

Success is checkable in about two minutes. The barrel: empty to the last tip-out, spigot left open, attachments removed and stored separately, barrel upside down or covered in its chosen storage spot, and raised and secured if that spot is outdoors. The downspout: reconnected or extended, delivering water away from the foundation, with the diverter feed disconnected and its hole plugged where the design provides for it. The parts: hoses drained and coiled under cover, screen clean. The base: level, solid, and empty, ready to be checked again in spring. If any one of those is missing — most commonly the restored downspout — the job is not finished, however clean the barrel looks.

The spring reconnect checklist

1. Inspect before carrying anything out. Look over the barrel for cracks — especially around the spigot fitting and seams — and check for any damage that occurred over winter before reinstalling it.
2. Test the spigot and fittings on the ground. Refit the spigot, screen, lid, and hoses; run a bucket of water through the spigot and watch the fittings. A drip found on the patio is a washer; the same drip found after reconnection is a half-day of rework.
3. Confirm the base is still level and solid. A full barrel weighs 400 pounds or more; it goes back only on a base that can carry that without tipping.
4. Remove the winter downspout arrangement and reconnect the diverter. Take off the temporary extension, reconnect the feed to the barrel inlet, and confirm the diverter’s overflow path still sends excess water down the downspout and away from the foundation when the barrel is full.
5. Position the overflow. Arrange the overflow outlet or hose so it drains away from the structure’s foundation, not beside the barrel base.
6. Rinse, then do a first-fill leak watch. Give the inside a final rinse if it collected dust in storage, set the lid and screen in place, and after the first rain fills the barrel partway, walk around it: dry ground at the base, no drips at the spigot, overflow running the right direction. That walk is the real confirmation that winter storage worked.

Common mistakes

• Draining but leaving the downspout disconnected. The barrel survives; the foundation spends winter under a drip line.
• Storing the barrel upright outdoors. An upright barrel collects rain and snow, which freeze — recreating the problem in a barrel that was correctly drained in October.
• Leaving hoses and the spigot attached outside. Small parts trap small amounts of water, and small amounts are enough to crack a fitting.
• Skipping the clean because the barrel “looked fine.” Sediment and algae are cheapest to remove while the barrel is empty, dry, and already off its base.
• Trying to move a barrel that is still partly full. Drain first. The weight figure — 400 pounds or more when full — is not a suggestion to hurry.

FAQ

Can a barrel stay out all winter if it is completely empty?
Outdoors is acceptable only in its stored form: emptied, attachments removed, turned upside down or on its side so no water can enter, raised off the ground, and secured against wind. Upright and in place is not stored, even when empty.

What if there is no diverter — the downspout was cut to fit the barrel?
Then restoring winter flow means reattaching the downspout length that was removed, or fitting a temporary extension, so meltwater goes down the downspout path and away from the house. Keep that removed section with the barrel parts so spring reconnection is a swap, not a fabrication project.

Is bleach necessary every fall?
No. A detergent scrub and rinse handles the routine clean; a dilute bleach rinse is the extra step for algae or odour, with its rinse water disposed of in a household drain. A barrel with no buildup needs only the simple rinse.

When exactly should this happen?
Before the first hard frost or freeze — work from the forecast, not the calendar, and early enough that the stored water can be used on beds and shrubs rather than poured away.