I feel I must point out that ingesting asbestos is dangerous. It doesn’t matter if you drink it in water instead of breathing it, it can still cause deadly health problems. Look up Mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the victims internal organs, not necessarily the lungs. Mesothelioma is always caused by asbestos exposure of some kind. In 99% of Mesothelioma cases the survival rate is less than 1 year.

Lois C is right–we did cover this topic on This Old House, and more than once! Here are the links:

“Harvesting the Water with Rain Barrels”, article plus how-to installation video clip (shows wood barrel but the info applies also to plastic barrels):
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“Tapping the Skies” article:
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Also, the link below will give you info about asbestos contamination limits in drinking water. FYI the most frequently noted hazard of asbestos is when the tiny, abrasive fibers become airborne and accumulate in your lungs. Ingesting them via water is a different health issue.

thats an interesting question.
We both know that breathing asbstos particles is unhealthy.
But as far as injesting small doses thru the stomach,,,I dont know..

water like that is whats called gray water..water that can be used for flushing toilets and things like that if you are going to drink the water you need to filter it and clean it. remember if a bird poops on your roof you drink it. ewww haha i have to look for a link for you ..but bermuda gets alot of there drinking water from cisterns that get the water from white painted roof tops…ok try this
p.s this old house had a show on it also

i wouldn’t think so.you better not.