Specialty Garden Hose Products – Should You Own One?

Getting water to wear you need it may seem like a simple process if you have a garden hose, but there are more variables to the equation than most people imagine. When choosing the best garden hose for your needs, you should consider a number of different factors including the quality of the hose, its diameter and length, your water pressure and any special watering needs you may have. When you evaluate your actual needs, you’ll find there are many specialty garden hose products that can get the water where you want it in the way you want it any time you want it there.

Garden Hose Diameter, Length and Water Pressure

Water pressure can be a major factor in how well you’re able to water your garden or wash the car. While a pressurized garden hose nozzle can help with low water pressure, when water has to travel a long distance, a nozzle may not be enough. The diameter of the garden hose you choose can make a huge difference in the water pressure at the business end of the hose.

First, the obvious. The bigger the diameter of your garden hose, the more water it can carry at once. A 1 inch water hose carries more water more quickly than a ¾ inch garden hose, and the ¾ inch garden hose carries more water than the ½ inch garden hose. But it’s not a straight linear progression. A 1 inch water hose doesn’t carry twice as many gallons as a ½ inch garden hose. In fact, the ¾ inch garden hose delivers twice as many gallons in the same amount of time as the ½ inch garden hose. In most cases, a 5/8 inch garden hose or ¾ inch garden hose will be sufficient for your watering tasks.

The distance your water has to travel through the hose also affects the water pressure at the nozzle. The longer the distance traveled, the lower the water pressure will be. Most garden experts recommend that you buy a garden hose that is just long enough to reach the distance you most commonly need. If the furthest corner of your garden is 40 feet from the faucet and your driveway is 70 feet away, choose a 50 foot hose for everyday watering chores and purchase a 25 foot garden hose that you can connect to it for those times that you need to reach the driveway.

Specialty Hose Products

Soaker garden hoses are a good option for watering vegetable gardens that need deep soaking. If you use a garden hose year round, a heated garden hose can make your watering chores much easier. A coil garden hose offers convenience and easy storage when you don’t need a lot of flexibility and distance. If you use water from your garden hose on edible plants or if your children and pets typically drink from the garden hose, consider purchasing a drinking safe garden hose.

Choosing the right garden hose can make your life easier and prolong its life. Before you make your choice, consider what type is the best garden hose for your needs.

Garden Hose 101 – Tips for Getting the Most from Your Watering

Your garden hose is supposed to make your watering chores easier, but too many gardeners end up having to wrestle their garden hoses into submission. Choosing the right garden hose and treating it right can make your gardening chores easier and safer. It kinks, splits and spews water all over the place – except where you want it to go. What can you do to maximize water output and minimize hassles from your garden hose? These tips can help you make short work of watering your garden so you can get on to doing more fun things with your outdoor time.

Choosing the Right Garden Hose

The number one garden hose tip of all time? Buy the best garden hose you can afford. A cheap hose will make your life miserable. It will kink when you try to go around corners, double up on itself and constrict the water flow, mildew, split and leak, probably at the faucet where the garden hose fittings are attached.

Hose Diameter

In general, you’ll have three choices when it comes to choosing a diameter – ½ inch, 5/8 inch and ¾ inch. A 1/2 inch garden hose is suitable for small gardens and in places where you don’t need good water pressure. Generally, a 5/8 inch garden hose is preferable to the smaller one. A ¾ inch garden hose is probably your best bet. They’re more expensive than the smaller sizes, but they move water faster and fit more accessories and garden hose fittings.

Hose Length

Most garden hoses are available in 25-foot increments – that is, 25, 50, 75 or 100 feet. Keep in mind that the further your water has to travel, the less pressure it will have when it gets to its destination. The best garden hose length is the one that will just reach where you need it to go. If you actually do need 100 feet of hose, consider purchasing 2 50-foot hoses and coupling them. It’s much easier to hook up the second hose halfway to your destination than it is to wrestle with 100 feet of coiling garden hose all the way across your lawn.

Specialty Garden Hose Styles

A coil garden hose is a good choice if you have a small garden or need a hose for watering patio plants. The coils make the hose easy to store, but can make it difficult for you to stretch to reach the full stated length. In general, if a coil garden hose claims to be 50 feet long, figure that you’ll get about 35 feet of extension from it comfortably.

Heated Garden Hose

If you use your garden hose during seasons when the temperature drops below freezing, consider buying a heated hose. A heated garden hose will remain pliable and prevent ice blockages that can damage your hose and make watering impossible.

A Last Word

Storing your garden hose properly will extend its life – and that’s important if you’ve sunk a bit of change into the best garden hose you can afford. An automatic garden hose reel can make your life considerably easier by eliminating the chore of emptying and coiling your garden hose.

Garden Hose Accessories No Home Should Be Without

Once you’ve got the best garden hose for your gardening and utility uses, there are a few garden hose accessories you should consider. These accessories help you store and care for your garden hose and extend its utility beyond simply pouring water on your garden. Whether your hose is a ½ inch garden hose for basic watering tasks or a coil garden hose chosen for easy storage and good looks, these additions can make your life easier and extend the life of your garden hose beyond one or two seasons.

Garden Hose Reel

Storing your garden hose properly is one of the most important things you can do to extend its life and keep it in good condition. Leaving your hose lying on the ground exposes it to the sun, which can dry out the vinyl/rubber and make it brittle, and leaves it vulnerable to mold, mildew and pests that can damage your hose on the ground. A garden hose reel gets your hose up off the ground and prevents it from kinking and tangling, which preserves its life and makes it easier to coil for storing. There are many different types of hose reels available, including retractable garden hose reels that automatically coil the hose for you, and garden hose reels with turn handles so that you can coil the hose yourself. Most garden hose reels will easily accommodate the typical ½ inch garden hose or ¾ inch garden hose in lengths up to 50 feet. Larger hose reels will accommodate larger hoses.

Garden Hose Fittings

The brass fittings at the either end of the garden hose are called garden hose fittings. Typically, a quality garden hose has solid brass fittings that don’t bend or warp out of shape. A spare set of garden hose fittings is a handy thing to have tucked away for emergency repairs during the season. If, for example, your garden hose springs a leak in the middle, it’s a simple matter to cut out the damaged part, put fittings on the cut ends and have two shorter garden hoses that you can couple together.

Garden Hose Couplings

The further your hose has to reach, the less water pressure you’ll have when the water gets there. While you may need 75 feet of hose to reach the driveway once in a while, you don’t have to always use a 100-foot hose when you’re watering the garden right beside your faucet. Invest in a pair of shorter garden hoses and only couple them together when you need the extra length.

Consider specialty garden hose products for specific uses. If you use your hose to water the garden, for example, choose a drinking safe garden hose, or a coil garden hose when you want an easy-store hose that takes up little space. Whatever you choose, check out the nozzles, sprayers, sprinklers and accessories that can make your garden hose more versatile, easier to use and simple to store.