What Kind of Garden Hose Do You Need? Advice for First Time Buyers

If you’ve never bought a garden hose before, you may think it’s an easy process – or you may find the whole process confusing. A walk down the aisle of the typical gardening or home improvement store will expose you to dozens of garden hoses in many different sizes, colors, configurations and materials. You may be tempted to just grab the nearest garden hose and head for the register, or conversely, you could end up walking up and down the aisle reading the garden hose labels and trying to figure out which is the best one for your needs. Neither approach is very productive. If you’re buying a garden hose for the first time, these things can make your life much easier – and ensure that you get a hose that will do what you need.

Figure Out Where Your Hose Needs to Reach

Think about the various ways you intend to use your garden hose Chances are that you’re looking for one right now because you need it for a specific purpose: washing your car, watering a garden or filling a pool are some of the most common reasons that people go out looking for a new garden hose for the first time. Consider where else you might want your hose to reach before you start shopping. It will help you buy a hose that’s long enough but not too long.

Measure the Distance from the Outdoor Faucet

Most people are notoriously inaccurate when they try to estimate distances. Instead of guessing, grab a tape measure and measure the distance from the outdoor faucet to the furthest distance your garden hose needs to reach. If you have several different uses in mind, measure the distance to each of them.

Don’t Buy a Longer Hose Than You Need

In some cases, it makes more sense to buy two shorter hoses than it does to buy one very long hose. If you’ll need 25-foot garden hose to reach your garden every day, for example, but your driveway is 50 feet away from the spigot, you’re probably better off buying a 25-foot hose for your gardening needs and a second 25-foot garden hose that you can attach to the first for extra length to reach your car in the driveway once a week or once a month.

Why would you buy two hoses instead of one 50-foot garden hose Long garden hoses can make your life more difficult. You’ll end up with lower water pressure and a lot more hose that can get twisted, kinked or bent. A 25-foot hose is also much easier to put away than a 50-foot garden hose.

Buy a Garden Hose Reel

Pay a little extra to get a high-quality garden hose A $30 hose will last years longer than a $10 bargain hose. While you’re at it, spring for a garden hose reel or jar to hold you hose when it’s not in use. It will last longer if it’s not in contact with the ground or laying around your lawn.

In addition to the basics, you may also find some particular features in garden hoses helpful. A drinking safe garden hose is a good idea if you intend to water vegetables or if you’ll be filling a pool for children who might swallow water, for example, and a one inch water hose is a great option if you need a lot of water pressure or want to fill a pool or a pond.

Things You Need to Know About Your Garden Hose

The right garden hose can make your chores around the garden, yard and garage much easier. The wrong one can put roadblocks in your way in subtle ways you don’t always recognize. If you’re trying to water your garden, wash your car, fill your swimming pool or water your animals with a garden hose that isn’t right for the job, you could be wasting time and dealing with unnecessary frustration every time you try to do an outdoor task. Here’s what you should know about your garden hose to make your outdoor tasks much easier.

Choose the Right Hose for the Job

There are garden hoses and there are garden hoses. A standard garden hose will do for most of your outdoor tasks, as long as it’s the right length. In most cases, you’ll want to avoid buying a hose that’s a lot longer than it needs to be to reach the places you’ll use it most. If, for example, you can reach the farthest corner of your vegetable garden with a 25-foot garden hose there’s no need for a 50-foot garden hose If anything, it will make your daily tasks more difficult because it will be more prone to kinking and tangling. You’ll have more length to drain and rewind on a garden hose reel. And the water will reach the business end of your hose at a greatly reduced water pressure.

But what if you also want to be able to reach the driveway, which is 40 feet away from the outdoor faucet? Most experts suggest that you invest in two 25-foot hoses rather than a 50-foot garden hose When you need the extra length, you can just hook the two hoses together.

Specialty Hoses

In addition to standard garden hoses, you’ll also find many kinds of specialty hoses available from home improvement stores and garden stores. Among the most popular:

Coil Garden Hose

Coil hoses are designed for use and storage in small spaces. Unlike traditional garden hoses, which must be manually coiled or rolled onto a garden hose reel, coil garden hoses are shaped into a permanent coil that resembles nothing so much as a metal spring. They’ll extend to reach all the corners of your patio, then coil back on themselves without any effort on your part.

Drinking Safe Garden Hose

Standard garden hoses are treated with chemicals that can leach into standing water, making them dangerous for drinking. In fact, independent tests have found very high levels of lead in water that had been standing in garden hoses for as little as a few hours. For safety’s sake, choose a hose that is labeled “drinking safe,” especially if you use the garden hose to fill wading pools for children or pets’ water dishes.

Choosing the right garden hose can make your yard and garden tasks much easier. The few extra minutes it takes to find the right hose will pay off in much longer life and a lot less hassle over time.