A good hose is a must-have tool, whether you are watering plants, pressure washing, cleaning your car or patio. Superficially they all look similar; although you can buy a hose for the littlest of bucks, spending even just a few bucks more can mean a big difference in quality.
For gardeners who use hoses a lot, hoses can make watering a pleasure rather than a chore. A cheaper hose needs frequent replacing, which can then cost you as much as a better one in the long run.
There are various kinds of hoses, so let’s discuss each and how to maintain them for longer periods.
1. Flat Hose:
A hose that remains flat until it’s filled with water. These hoses are slightly heavy and a smaller version of a fireman’s hose. The main purpose of these is to supply water in jobs, such as irrigation and construction.
These hoses kink quickly because it’s usually made of vinyl. These are so straight that you cannot fit them around the corners.
2. Soaker hose:
These are easier to use compared to other hoses, also very inexpensive. Soaker hoses are used to drip water evenly and slowly at low pressure because it has thousands of minuscule pores. These hoses are mainly made up of recycled plastic or rubber.
The sunlight and uncertain water pressure easily vandalize these hoses.
3. Sprinkler hose:
These hoses are ideal for watering narrow lawn areas as it sends out a misty spray in an area at least 10 ft wide.
The main con of these hoses is that it doesn’t reach ground-hugging plants.
4. Pocket hose:
Pocket hoses expand as these are filled with water and very much handy.
These hoses can’t bear extreme water pressures, and therefore these hoses don’t last long. The fabric of these hoses rupture easily and deface too fast.
The hoses should be of aluminum stamped metal or brass would be most suitable and durable. Best hoses are more flexible and should fit anywhere.
A quick solution to all the cons, Coiled Garden Hose!
If you’re looking for an ideal solution to hand-water your garden and if you want to get rid of the problems that you’re facing with other hoses, then the coiled hose is here to save your day!
Coiled hoses can be your best friend because you can easily water your garden even with the smaller area.
The finest thing about coiled hoses is that you can easily stow it away in your balcony or patio or any tiny space as it recoils back to a tight spiral.
It puts itself away; you do not have to coil it yourself because its already coiled back in place, bouncing back to it’s shape!
With this means you won’t be tackling tangles, knots, knits. And with that clever, easy design, you’re also getting the functionality because you won’t find yourself spraying it in the wrong direction when you’re doing tasks around the garden again.
Well, that’s amazing, no?
Watering the garden is fun, but when it comes time to put the garden hose away, well, that’s when all hell breaks loose!
If you’re spending any time in the outdoors, sooner or later, you’re going to be using a hose, so stick around, and I am going to show you how to manage your garden hose.
Here you go with few ideas on how to maintain and take care of your hose because a garden hose can stay durable for a long period if it’s properly maintained.
How to maintain your Garden Hose
There are some ways you can maintain your garden hose
How to avoid a knotted up mess of your garden hose:
Don’t coil it in circles.
If you coil your hose in circles, half-twist in the left and half in the right, it will get kinked on unwinding it; you don’t want that right?
Instead, the key is to coil in figure 8 because it will be kink-free by coiling it this way.
It’s going to revolutionize your hose storage!
How to disengage your hose from fissures or ruptures:
You simply have to avoid storing your hose in a place where it gets direct sunlight. That’s the first rule to maintain your hose from ruptures or cracks.
The strong UV rays can heat the water remaining inside your hose, which can damage your hose’s inner tubing.
Also, stop pulling and dragging your hose by a spray nozzle because doing it so the hose can get cracks as it weakens the nozzle’s connection.
How to repair leaks of your garden hose:
Looking for some spot-on tips to fix up the cracks and leakage of the hose?
As garden hoses are quite costly, instead of tossing them in the trash and replacing them every time, you could easily repair them yourself and save a lot of money in the long run.
First of all, you’ll have to identify where the leak is coming from and what type of leak you have. If the leak is coming from the water gun, nine times out of ten, the rubber washer is the culprit. All you have to do is replace a rubber washer with a new one, and it’ll stop leaking.
A torn or pierced hose is chaos, and you can fix it if you have super glue and a rubber patch available. Simply use the glue in a tube patch kit, and then take fine-grit sandpaper to sand the area down. Then finish fixing it up by putting the rubber piece on top after letting the glue dry.
It’ll fix it as good as new
How to string out your hose:
Wondering ways to prolong the life of your garden hose?
Simply avoid leaving the remaining water after using the hose, making a habit of draining it after every use.
Most of the hoses burst when you rely on the nozzle to remove the water; instead, the water keeps building pressure after it kept gathering inside the tube, which in the end bursts your nozzle.
The process of frosting and defrosting of water in winters weakens and incapacitates the hose’s fabric.
In order to prevent the water in your hose from freezing in winters, always ALWAYS remove the excess water left inside the hose. For that, you’ll have to make sure that all the attachments of your garden hose are properly fitted, i.e., nozzle and sprayers.
How to deal with hose storage:
To keep your hose last longer, it is very important to store it after use properly. You can store your hose on special hose reels by simply rolling a hose in a turning motion.
These storing hose reels can save your hose from knots and kinks that develop in the hose if you don’t properly store it.
Also, don’t forget to put your garden hose away when you’re done using it. Putting your hose away would save it from getting kinked, decaying from soil moisture and ruptures.
Be sure to store your hose with no ray of sunlight and where it won’t be run over by cars or bicycles or even feet.
Unplug your hose from the main water source. That’s a mistake that many people make and try to put the hose away while it’s attached. It’s not going to work that way!
You know there’s no room for doubt that you are supposed to do things right when it comes to keeping up your garden, foundry, deck, cars, and so on. You can tell a great deal regarding your gardeners just by examining their hoses’ condition and how they do things to maintain it.
Final Words:
The hose needs to be well-maintained without exception, come what may. When you treat your garden hose right by giving it some care in return, it will too serve you well.