Steps to Choosing the Right Garden Hose

Whether you have a baronial estate or a small patio garden, your garden hose is an essential piece of outdoor equipment. In fact, even if you don’t have a garden or lawn, you’ll still want a garden hose for washing your car, hosing down your house or washing down backyard toys and equipment. Choosing the right garden hose for your needs can make your gardening and outdoor tasks easier and more efficient. Decide what you’ll use your hose for, then purchase the garden hose that best fits your needs. These tips can help you make the best choice for your watering and outdoor maintenance needs.

Decide how long you want your hose to be. You can purchase garden hoses in a wide variety of standard lengths, from 10 feet to more than 100 feet. Unless you have to routinely reach areas of your property that are more than 50 feet from the outdoor spigot, you’ll probably find that a 50-foot garden hose more than meets your needs. If your garden is right by the faucet, a 25-foot length will be more than sufficient. If you’re gardening in a small space, such as on your patio, consider a coil garden hose, which is designed to give you the length your need without taking up a lot of precious room.

Choose the right hose diameter. Just as there are standard lengths for garden hoses, there are also standard garden hose diameters. The two most commonly bought sizes are 1/2 inch garden hose, which will deliver about 9 gallons of water per minute, and 3/4 inch garden hose, which will deliver twice that amount of water. If your water pressure is low, consider choosing a higher diameter garden hose which will lose less water pressure over distance than smaller diameter hoses.

Keep in mind that water pressure will also be affected by the length of the hose you choose. The further the water has to travel between the spigot and the business end of your garden hose the lower the water pressure will be. Choose the shortest length of hose that will suit your needs to maintain the highest water pressure possible.

Pick a garden hose with the best material for your climate. Most garden hoses are made of vinyl or rubber, generally reinforced with nylon, cloth or other materials. Rubber hoses are more durable, weight more than vinyl garden hoses and are generally more expensive than vinyl hoses. Choose garden hose made of rubber if you live in an extreme climate and will be using the hose in very cold or very hot weather.

If you live in a mild climate and will not be using your garden hose for more than light watering duties, a vinyl garden hose may be sufficient for your needs. Be aware that many garden hoses are treated with chemicals or have phthalates or BPA in the vinyl with which they are made. If you will be watering edible plants, drinking water from the garden hose or using the garden hose to water livestock or other animals, choose a drinking safe garden hose to be on the safe side.

Invest in a garden hose reel to protect your hose from damage when it’s not in use.

Choosing the right garden hose can greatly increase its life and make your gardening and household maintenance chores much easier. If you’re still not sure which hose is the best one for your use, talk to the manager at your garden supply store for more advice.

How Does a Heated Garden Hose Work?

If you have regular need for a garden hose outdoors in below-freezing temperatures, you may be doing a lot more work than you have to do. Letting water freeze inside your garden hose can weaken and crack the materials, and make it impossible to use. Unless you have a heated garden hose, you have to remove the hose from the spigot, drain it completely and bring it inside to keep it warm every single time you use it. Whether you use a garden hose for getting water to animals during the winter, grooming a backyard ice rink or providing water for your hot tub, greenhouse or Jacuzzi, a heated garden hose can make your winter life much easier.

What Is a Heated Garden Hose?

A heated hose is a garden hose fitted with an electric heater to keep it warm when the temperature drops below freezing. Typically, the hose’s female connector end is fitted with an insulated cuff that plugs into a GCFI-protected outdoor extension cord. The highest-quality heated garden hoses are thermostatically controlled – that is, the heater turns on when the temperature drops below a certain temperature and turns off when the ambient air warms above that temperature.

How a Heated Garden Hose Works

The better garden hoses are heated along their full length by electrical wires that are molded into the PVC vinyl of which the hose is made. When the power is on, electrical power runs through the wires and heats the hose, keeping the water flowing inside it from freezing.

Isn’t That Dangerous?

Heated garden hoses are specially constructed to prevent the water from coming into contact with the electricity. Look for heated hoses that meet NSF-61 safety standards for electrical devices to make sure that your garden hose is as safe as possible.

How Much Power Does a Heated Garden Hose Use?

While the precise measurement varies from one manufacturer to the next, a 25-foot 1/2 inch garden hose will draw about 200 watts of power. A 50-foot hose will draw about 400 watts of power. For comparison purposes, your refrigerator draws about 1,000 watts.

Not all heated garden hoses are created equal. If you need to deliver water outdoors in freezing temperatures, shop around for a high-quality heated garden hose to handle your needs. The very best brands are manufactured in the United States and are 100 percent drinking water safe garden hoses that can be used for anything from providing water for livestock to providing water for your RV during the winter. Don’t put up with frozen hoses all winter long. Get a garden hose that keeps your water flowing when all heck has frozen over.

Garden Hose Trivia Quiz

When you work for a company that sells garden hose, you learn a lot of interesting little tidbits about garden hose history, construction, materials and other garden hose trivia. You may think you know your garden hoses, but how well will you do in this little garden hose trivia quiz?

What Color Is the Most Common Garden Hose Color?

Most garden hoses are either green or black, but they may come in just about any color. One exception is a drinking safe garden hose typically used to fill the potable water tank in RVs or boats. They’re generally white. One of the newest types of garden hose, the coil garden hose, comes in a number of different colors, including blue, red and green.

What Is the Most Common Diameter for Garden Hoses?

You can get a garden hose in diameters ranging from 1/2 inch garden hose to 1 inch water hose, but the most common diameter for household use is a 5/8 inch garden hose.

What Size Garden Hose Delivers Twice as Much Water as a 1/2 Inch Garden Hose?

If you guessed that a 1 inch water hose delivers twice the volume of water as a 1/2 inch garden hose, you’d be wrong. In fact, a 3/4 inch garden hose delivers twice the volume of water as a 1/2 inch hose.

Which Is Better – a 100-foot Garden Hose or Two 50-Foot Garden Hoses?

It depends. If you have to reach a garden between 50 and 100 feet away from your house, the 100-foot garden hose makes sense. If you typically only need a 50-foot hose but occasionally need one that’s longer, you’re actually better off getting a second hose and connecting the two. Here’s why. Water loses pressure as it goes through a hose or pipe. The further the water has to travel, the more pressure it loses. It’s impractical to use a 100-foot garden hose to water garden that’s less than 50 feet from the spigot – and you’ll end up with a tangled, kinked hose more often than not.

What’s the Thread Gauge Garden Hose Fittings?

The standard for US garden hoses is known as Garden Hose Thread, or GHT. It has an outer diameter of 1 1/16 inches, 1.0625 inches (27.0 mm) and a pitch of 11.5 TPI. US garden hose standards are not compatible with the standard used in most of the rest of the world, BSP.

Then again, if you ask for a garden hose in the UK, the shopkeep probably won’t know what you’re looking for. One last bit of garden hose trivia: in the UK, the common garden hose goes by the name hosepipe.

Neat Tricks Your Garden Hose Can Do

If you only use your garden hose to water your plants, you’re missing out on some of the neat tricks it can do. Here’s a short collection of ways you can use your garden hose to do more than water your garden or wash your car.

Siphon Your Pool

A garden hose makes a great makeshift siphon hose if you need to empty water out of a pool or large tub. Use a 1/2 inch garden hose or 5/8 inch garden hose. Drop one end into the pool. Hang the other end over the pool making sure that the other end is lower than the end in the pool. Suck on the hose to start water moving through it. Once the flow of water is established, gravity will do the rest.

Tip: Use a drinking safe garden hose to avoid any issues with lead or chemicals in the inner lining of the hose.

Unclog a Drain

Got a slow-draining tub or sink? You can unclog it with a garden hose. Just hook your hose up to the outdoor spigot and drag it through the house to the clogged drain. Insert the end of the hose into the drain. Wrap a dishcloth around it to prevent water from backing up into the sink or tub. Have a helper turn on the water outside while you keep watch. Within a minute or two, you should hear water flowing freely through the drain.

Hang Your Garden Hose

Contact with the ground will seriously reduce the lifespan of your garden hose. Hang a garden hose reel on the wall near your spigot to make it convenient to hang up your hose after you use it. As a bonus, the act of coiling your hose up will drain it, reducing the damage done by standing water and preventing standing water from picking up lead and other chemicals over time.

Two Garden Hoses Are Better Than One

If you occasionally need to reach your driveway with a garden hose, but your garden is so much closer, don’t invest in a longer hose. Instead, buy a second hose. A longer hose reduces the water pressure available at the business end – something you probably don’t want when you water your garden every day or every other day. It’s a simple matter to couple two shorter garden hoses together when you need the extra length. That way, you get all the water pressure and power you need for your regular chores and still have those extra feet when you need them.

Buy the Right Garden Hose

There are many different kinds and styles of garden hoses on the market, each of them best for a particular use. Instead of buying a cheap, generic garden hose, figure out how you’ll use it most often and choose the best hose for the job. A one inch water hose is ideal for filling pools and pressure washing, for example, and a coil garden hose is perfect for watering chores in enclosed spaces. You can even buy a heated garden hose if you need to use a hose outdoors when the temperature falls below freezing. You’re always better off choosing the best garden hose you can afford. It will last longer and cost you less in the long run.

Choosing a Garden Hose for Your Winter Needs

Winter may be here, but that doesn’t mean you no longer have a need for your garden hose. There are many reasons you may need to use outdoor water during the colder months, from watering animals to icing down a home-built skating rink. Choosing the right winter garden hose – and caring for it properly – can make your winter chores much quicker and easier to accomplish.

Heated Garden Hose

The most advantageous choice for an outdoor garden hose in the winter is a heated garden hose There are many types, styles and brands of heated garden hoses from which to choose. The best options for heated garden hoses are those that heat the entire length of the hose. The more common – and less expensive – heat the first several inches of the garden hose nearest the spigot. The heat keeps ice dams from forming inside the hose.

Caring for a Heated Garden Hose – Or Any Other Garden Hose – in Winter

If you’re planning to use a garden hose throughout the year, it’s a good plan to purchase one with a wider diameter than you would otherwise. A ¾ inch garden hose is less likely to freeze solid than a ½ inch garden hose. Whatever diameter of hose you choose, there are a few things you can do to help your garden hose make it through the winter unscathed.

Drain Your Hose Fully After Each Use

Leftover water will freeze at winter temperatures, and the ice can damage the structure of the hose tubing. After you’re done with your watering chores, roll the hose onto a garden hose reel and make sure that all of the water is drained from its length.

Store the Garden Hose in a Warm Place

The optimal treatment for your garden hose is to bring it indoors – or at least into a warmer storage shed, garage or basement – when you’re done using it for the day. Obviously, this won’t work if you require your hose to be in use around the clock. In that case, a heated garden hose is your best option of all.

Drinking Safe Garden Hose

If you’ll be using your garden hose to supply potable water for any reason, check the label to find out if it’s rated safe for drinking water. Many garden hoses are treated with chemicals to help protect the interior of the tubing. Unfortunately, one of the ingredients of the protective coating is often lead. In some states, any hose that contains lead must be labeled as unsafe for drinking water, while in other states, garden hoses that meet or exceed safe drinking water standards will be labeled as a drinking safe garden hose.

Taking care of your garden hose during the winter will help ensure its long life of service. Don’t skimp on protecting it from the elements and it will always be there when you need it most.

Winterize Your Garden Hose and Other Tips to Ready Your Garden for Winter

In the Northeast, the first frost has already bitten some areas, while temps in others are dipping into the low 40s on most nights. If you haven’t winterized your garden hose and prepared your garden for the winter, now is the time to do it. These tips can help you put together a checklist of chores to preserve your gardening tools, store your garden hose and prepare your garden to winter over in peace.

Clean Up the Garden

Pull up all annual flowers, vegetables and tender herbs and dispose of them properly. Don’t leave dead stalks standing in the garden. They provide perfect cover for insect larvae and other microbes that can cause diseases and harm next year’s crop.

Trim back perennials or cut them back to ground level and compost the tops. Save the seed heads for next year if you want them.

Mow the lawn and do routine maintenance on your lawn mower. Use your garden hose to wash the undercarriage clean so that the grass clippings and dirt don’t cause rust or corrosion.

Winterize Plants

If there are tender plants that you intend to leave outdoors for the winter, protect them with a cold frame or with a glass cloche. You can build your own cold frame with an old window and some two-by-fours. Just stack the two-by-fours or bricks around the plants and lay the window frame over the top.

Wrap sturdier plants in burlap to protect the tender branches from heavy snow and ice.

Winterize Your Garden Hose and Equipment

On a warm day, clean the outside and inside of terra cotta, clay and concrete ornaments, bird baths, pools and baths. Use your garden hose to wash them clean and place them in the sun to dry thoroughly.

Drain your garden hose by stretching it out to full length with one end pointed downhill. If you don’t have a sloping area on which to drain it, stretch your hose to full length on the ground. Pick up one end and put it over your shoulder. Walk the full length of the hose, picking it up and threading it over your shoulder to push the water in it toward the far end. Repeat at least once to make sure that you’ve fully drained the garden hose. Coil it carefully and wind it onto a garden hose reel to store indoors.

If you’ll need a hose for watering chores during the winter, consider investing in a heated garden hose. A heated garden hose has an electric warmer at the end that prevents water from freezing and plugging it up.

Before you put your garden hose away for the winter, examine its full length for signs of wear, cracking or decay. The end of the season is the ideal time to replace a worn garden hose with a new one. Most gardening stores and home improvement stores will have all types of hoses on sale. If you’ve been considering a replacement or upgrade to your current garden hose, this is a great time to get a good bargain on a ½ inch garden hose, a ¾ inch garden hose, a drinking safe garden hose or a coil garden hose. Take advantage of the end of season sales to stock up on gardening equipment and a new garden hose for the spring.

Is Your Garden Hose Dangerous to Your Health?

How often do you grab a sip of water from your garden hose when you’re out gardening? If you’re like most gardeners, you’ve probably done it fairly often. And if you have kids, you can bet that they’re drinking from the garden hose, too. Would it scare you to find out that the water from your garden hose could be toxic? Scary information, and, sadly, true.

In May, the Ecology Center, an Ann Arbor based research center, tested the water from 90 garden hoses that were currently on the market. Their results were shocking, especially in light of the safety standards for drinking water and Consumer Protection Agency standards for lead in products that will be used by children. Among other things, the Ecology Center found that water sampled from some of the garden hoses contained unacceptably high levels of lead, phthalates and BPA and DEP, a hormone disruptor that can cause numerous problems for young children. Specifically, the water from one light duty 1/2 inch garden hose contained 928ppm for lead – nearly 20 times the allowable amount in drinking water. It also contained BPA that was more than 20 times the acceptable amount in drinking water and DEHP in levels 4 times the federal standard for drinking water.

Meanwhile, in 2011, Consumer Reports did similar tests with 16 new hoses, all available nationally. They found that the hoses that were labeled as drinking water safe garden hoses leached the least amount of lead – less than the allowable lead levels for tap water. Among the other garden hose products, however, the lead levels ranged as high as 100 times the levels of lead allowable in drinking water.

Why Is There Lead in Your Garden Hose?

The lead and other harmful chemicals in your garden hose come from two different sources. First, brass garden hose fittings can contain up to 8 percent lead. The bigger problem, though, is the plastic used for the hose body. Many cheaper garden hoses – and some higher quality ones – use lead as a stabilizer for the plastic and as a pigment. It’s especially common if your garden hose is green or yellow – which includes most of them. In addition, PVC garden hose, which is very common, contains phthalates, which are endocrine disruptors.

So What Can You Do?

First, discard your old plastic garden hose and buy a natural rubber hose, suggests the Ecology Center. Second, look for a drinking water safe garden hose. Even with those precautions, however, the Ecology Center and Consumer Reports both recommend that you always flush the garden hose before drinking by letting the water run for at least 30 seconds before drinking. And just to be on the safe side, flush your garden hose before using it to water anything edible as well.