Surprising Things You Can Do with Your Garden Hose

Everyone knows that when you want to water your garden or wash your car, your trusty garden hose is the first tool you pull out of the shed. Watering and washing are only two of the many things you can use your garden hose to do, though. Do you know you can use your garden hose to help you lay out a walkway? Or that your worn-out garden hose can make it easier to carry a heavy bucket from one part of the yard to another? Here’s a list of surprising things you may not have known you could do with your garden hose.

Lay Out a Curving Path

Whether you’re laying out a walkway or designing the curving edge of a flower bed, your garden hose is one of the best tools at your disposal. A good 1/2 inch garden hose is flexible enough to curve where you want it, and heavy enough to stay put when you lay it down. You can even leave it in place while you dig along the curve to make sure that you get the outline you want.

Pad a Bucket Handle

Are you replacing your worn garden hose? Cut a few lengths of hose to use for other projects. If you have a metal bucket with a wire handle, for example, a length of garden hose makes a great padded cover for the wire. Just make a slit along one side of the hose and slide the tubing over the handle with the slit facing up. The vinyl hose will keep the metal handle from cutting into your hand when you’re carrying it.

Empty Your Hot Tub

You don’t need a pump or siphon to empty the water out of your swimming pool or hot tub. All you need is a short length of garden hose. Drop one end of the hose into the water. Suck through the hose until you have water flowing, then leave the other end of the hose hanging lower than the hose inside the pool. The water will continue to drain on its own.

Clear a Clogged Drain

Water pressure is one of the quickest ways to clear a clogged drain. Connect your garden hose to an outdoor spigot and drag it through the house to the drain that needs clearing. Push the end of the hose into the drain, and wrap a towel tightly around it. Have a helper turn on the hose outside so that you can keep an eye on the drain. Within a few minutes, the running water should clear the clog from the drain.

Your garden hose is good for a lot more than watering your flowers and washing down your house. If you’re looking for a replacement for your old hose, look for one that fits all of your needs. These days, there are all sorts of specialty hoses for different purposes, including coil garden hose, drinking safe garden hose and heated garden hose. Consider your needs and then choose the one that meets them best.