What to Do with Your Old Garden Hose

As you're planning for spring, did you get a new garden hose? If you’ve invested in a high quality new garden hose – maybe even a fancy coil garden hose or a heated garden hose for outdoor use in cold weather – you may be wondering what to do with your old, worn hose. Here are a number of things you can do with your old garden hose instead of throwing it away.

Protect Little Fingers

Little fingers have a bad habit of getting caught and pinched in the chains on swing sets. Protect those fingers from chain pinches by cutting a length of garden hose for each chain. Remove the chains from the hooks that suspend the swing seat and slip the section of hose over the chain. Hang the swings again and let your little ones enjoy their swinging without the danger of getting fingers caught and pinched by the chains.

Protect Big Fingers

Does the handle of your water bucket dig into your fingers when you carry it from the faucet to the car for washing? Make it easier on your hands by sliding a section of garden hose over the wire handle to serve as a cushion. You’ll get a better grip on the bucket and ease the pain in your fingers.

Save the Parts

Before you get rid of your old hose, remove the garden hose fittings and put them away. They may come in handy in the future when you need to make a quick repair. Likewise, save undamaged lengths of garden hose for future projects or repairs.

Wheelbarrow Bumper Guard

Does the end of your wheelbarrow cause scratches and dings when it bumps into the walls or worse, your car? One of the lovely things about a garden hose is that it’s flexible enough to fit around things. Measure the rim of your wheelbarrow and cut a length of garden hose to fit. Using a box cutter or razor knife, slit the hose open on one side. Push the garden hose over the rim of the wheelbarrow to cushion it and serve as a bumper guard.

Don’t just toss out your old garden hose when you get a replacement for it. There are many ways to reuse your old hose and extend its useful life. While you’re at it, take the time to treat your new garden hose with care. Store it on a garden hose reel or in a garden hose jar to protect it from damage, and bring it indoors when it won’t be in use for some time. Take care of your new garden hose and you’ll get years of use out of it.

Tips to Get the Most from Your Garden Hose

Your garden hose may be the most overworked and underappreciated piece of gardening equipment that you own. Many gardeners buy the least expensive garden hose they can find and put it through all sorts of abuse – pulling on it, twisting it, kinking it, running over it with the car or the lawnmower – and then when it springs a leak or fails to perform up to the expected standards, they toss it in a corner or in the trash, then they go out and buy the cheapest garden hose they can find. Really, can you imagine treating anything but your garden hose that way?

If you’re thinking there must be a better way, you’re right. The right garden hose can make all of your outdoor tasks easier. The wrong one can make them more difficult. These tips can help you get the most benefit and advantage out of the garden hose you choose.

Start with a High Quality Garden Hose

If you’ve never used a really good garden hose, you won’t believe the difference it makes in your gardening and outdoor maintenance tasks. Do you fight to get your hose attached to the faucet because the threads won’t line up right? Real brass garden hose fittings don’t bend out of shape, making it easier to attach and detach the garden hose from the faucet. In addition, the better garden hoses have hexagonal or octagonal garden hose fittings, making them easier to grip and tighten when you screw them onto the faucet. That cuts down on leaks at the faucet and allows you to make a good connection without stripping the threads.

In addition, choosing a garden hose made of high quality materials gives you more wear from your hose. A cheap vinyl hose will kink, bend and eventually break. A well-made reinforced rubber hose will be far less likely to kink and knot, allowing you to continue your watering without having to stop and untangle your hose repeatedly.

Choose the Right Garden Hose for Your Needs

There are a number of specialty garden hoses available on the market that can make your life even easier. You can buy a drinking safe garden hose, for example, if you’re concerned about lead or BPA in your drinking water or in the water you use to water your vegetables. A coil garden hose is the ideal choice if you do your gardening chores in tight quarters, such as on a patio or in a greenhouse.

Accessories

Don’t forget to store your garden hose properly when it’s not in use. The best way to do that is to invest in a good garden hose reel. It will keep you hose out of contact with the ground and help drain it every time you put it away, reducing wear and tear on your garden hose.

Why throw away your money on a cheap garden hose when you can buy a good quality 1/2 inch garden hose or one inch water hose, treat it properly and get good service from it for years to come.