The amount of water that the Original Rainwater Pillow will collect at your home depends on the size of the area covered by your roof.

Measure the square footage of the area directly covered by your roof, multiplying the length of the space by the width. Then multiply that number by 0.625. That’s how many gallons your roof can collect from one inch of rain. So, if the roof covers a 40 x 40 space, and all sides of the roof are connected to gutters, that roof will be able to collect 1000 gallons of water from an inch of rainfall.

The standard size Original Rainwater Pillow is 9 feet x 11 feet x 2.5 feet and holds about 1000 gallons. We can also custom manufacture larger pillows that can hold up to 40,000 gallons. Your Original Rainwater Pillow can custom made to fit the available open area in your crawl space or greenhouse, or under your deck or porch. When you measure your space, you must treat support pillars like walls, since the rainwater pillow cannot go around them. Additionally, the crawl space must be at least three feet high to accommodate the standard size pillow. Crawl space height for custom size pillows must be six inches higher then the inflated pillow height. Pillows can be made from 1 foot high to 3.5 feet high to fit your available space.

Large rain barrels typically hold about 50 gallons of water each. You would need 20 rain barrels to hold the same amount of water as a single, standard size Original Rainwater Pillow! Additionally, multiple rain barrels use space very inefficiently. The Original Rainwater Pillow uses space extremely efficiently. It is a horizontal storage system designed to utilize wasted space.

The Original Rainwater Pillow will not explode because It is a non-pressurized gravity fill system. There are two overflow pipes if too much water is added which prevents any pressure buildup. The pillow is made of reinforced polymer alloy – the same heavy duty industrial fabric used by the military and fire departments. All seams are radio frequency welded, which means that electromagnetic energy heats and bonds materials under pressure, ensuring strong, leak-proof seams. 

The Original Rainwater Pillow is designed for use in crawlspaces, inside a greenhouse or under a deck or porch. Unfortunately, it cannot be installed in other areas inside the home at this time. Water is heavy (approximately 8 lbs per gallon!) so the pillow must be on the ground.

Yes – and this is easy to do. Check your filter before and after each rainfall and pull out any leaves or debris that may have collected. It is easy to clean roof gravel by removing the filter pad and tapping it against a hard object then rinse with water. How often you will need to clean the filter will depend on your specific situation.

Call Rainwater Collection Solutions, Inc. at 770-853-9918 or email President Jim Harrington at jim@rainwaterpillow.com. Jim is likely to answer the phone himself when he isn’t working with a customer, and he returns messages promptly (the same day or within 24 hours). Technical help is available by phone from 9:00am-5:00pm Eastern Standard Time. Design consultation assistance is also available at your home for a nominal fee. Contact us for more information.

You will save money any time you use free rainwater for watering, car washing, etc. Even in years with ample rain, we often experience periods of dry weather. Even when we recover from current drought conditions, the cost of water is unlikely to go down!

Tests have shown that all Original Rainwater Pillow materials can remain in contact with water, with no negative effects. Natural rainfall, however, does contain organic matter, so the occasional addition of a low concentration of chlorine may be necessary from time to time. In Georgia, we usually receive monthly rainfall, so the simple act of using your system will keep problems to a minimum with natural aeration.