What a timely guest blog post by Robert Loyst.

“Our garden hose has seen better days and over the years we’ve had it. It had been run over many times but the last time my son’s girlfriend drove over the nozzle and almost flatten it and I couldn’t get it un-flattened so it needs to be replaced.” – James Mann

garden hose reelIt is understandable that garden hose maintenance might not be on the top of your high priority list, but if you want to consider yourself a great gardener, you need to have quality, dependable equipment.

One of the most important parts of any garden setup is the garden hose and with a couple of tips and methods, you can increase the life and performance of your hose.

Protecting the Garden Hose Nozzle

I can’t tell you how many times I have been at a friends house and been just appalled at the condition of their garden hose nozzle. The first signs that the hose isn’t being stored correctly is the presence of scratches or deep gouges on the nozzle. These marks are typically from someone dropping the hose on the ground after they are done using it.

Dropping your nozzle on the ground in such a manner will not only destroy the nozzle tip, it will also loosen the handle that you press to spray. A loose handle may simply break off or be limited in its travel, which will not let the right amount of water out(decreased water pressure).

Not only does the handle area get damaged when a hose nozzle is dropped or dragged on the ground, the actual connection where the hose nozzle and the hose meet will become loose, worn and will most likely develop a leak.

A perfect example of this is the hose that we have at work. If you simply turn the water pressure all the way up, the whole nozzle simply pops right off. You cannot have this in a real gardening situation.

Hose Reel and Hose Placement

A very common thing I see in many garden situations is the wrong location of a hose reel or hose storage area. Hoses are made of rubber, which is extremely vulnerable to sun and heat exposure.

You should always locate your hose in an area that is going to get a lot of shade. Obviously if your hose connections are in the sunlight you will need to cover your hose with a cloth or some other type of shelter or look into getting a hose reel cart that will allow you to move your hose out of the sun for storage.

NOTE: Just because your hose may not show that much sign of heat/sun exposure, you have to know that hoses are made of several layers of rubber and other materials. The outside layer may be slightly dry, but you will never know truly the condition of the inner materials.

My recommendation is that you purchase a hose reel cart that will kill many birds with one stone. They enable you to easily wind the hose up after each use which will protect against internal hose fractures, they allow you to store your hose in the shade, which will protect against heat damage and can be unwound in an orderly fashion, again which will relieve stress on the hose.

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Filed under: backyard gardening • garden tools • gardening • gardening tips • herb gardening • home gardening • home gardening tips

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