Rain Chains

I am so excited.

I came across something today that I had never heard of before.

I am hoping that one of the Friends of Benmakesten are familiar with rain chains and will be able to relay some personal experience in using them so that when I ask my husband if we can try some next summer, I will have some positive feedback to go!

One of the things I've never care for, as far as outdoor home features go, is the downspout...you know, that awful metal thing that links to the roof gutters and guides the run-off water out into the yard. I've tripped over them a hundred times and my kids always MOVE the thing that fits underneath it (not sure what this item is called but its job is to steer the water more evenly so that you don't end up with huge puddles)...Anyway, frogs and salamanders and other little creatures love to live under these and so my children are always lifting and moving ours to find their little friends; but never remember to put back the "whatever-its-called" after they are done! Thus, I not only trip over the downspout but then I trip over the "whatever-its-called" that the kids have left lying about in the yard.

Anyway, I stumbled across chain rain accessories online today and realized there was an entire website featuring these things! Apparently, they come in all sorts of styles and they are meant to allow the rain to flow freely, yet guided from the gutter on your roof down the rain chain and into the rain barrels. The chain links come in different styles...some were designed to look like flowers, some like little cups, etc...then there are electrical "water flow" controllers that come as an accessory. I imagine that does just what it says...controls the flow of the water down the chain?

In the end, instead of having an ugly old metal downspout, you have a lovely feature that looks more like a long wind chime of sorts...the rain flows down the links and into the basin. (Not sure how that gets to the rain barrel, for, as I've said, I'd never heard of these things before today.)

So...tell me...any of you ever use one of these lovely outdoor features? Do they work? Are they very expensive? Can you install them yourself? Do they malfunction a lot?

If you have one, do you love it? Like it? Dislike it? Hate it?

Leave a comment and tell me all that you know about "rain chains". I am very curious about this:)