Garden Hose Reels and Other Storage Ideas

Spring is springing up all over. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to check over your trusty garden hose and make sure it’s fit for another season of use. If it’s not, springtime is the second-best time of year to find a great bargain on a high quality garden hose – even specialty hoses like a coil garden hose, a drinking safe garden hose or a heated garden hose. The only better time to replace your worn-out garden hose is at the end of the growing season – but that means you have to put in another season of fighting with a hose that’s too short, kinks easily and tangles up with just about everything. There’s an enormous variety of garden hoses on the market these days, so it should be easy to find exactly the right length and diameter one you need for your garden.

Whether you buy a new garden hose or want to get a little more life from your current one, you definitely should be storing your hose properly. Whether you’re using a 1-inch water hose for heavy duty applications, or a standard 1/2 inch garden hose or 3/4 inch garden hose , storing it the right way will prevent a lot of the problems that can shorten the life of one of your handiest, trustiest gardening tools. Here are some tips on how to properly care for and store your new – or old – garden hose.

Garden Hose Reels

A garden hose reel is the best solution for storing your hose when it’s not in use for a number of reasons.

-          Coiling your garden hose onto the reel helps you empty its entire length, which prevents interior rotting.

-          A wall-mounted garden hose reel keeps your garden hose up off the ground so you don’t accidentally run it over with your riding mower.

-          A portable garden hose reel makes it easier to move your hose around your property without dragging the entire length of the hose behind you.

-          Rolling up your garden hose on a hose reel gets it up off the ground, out of contact with dirt, mold and insects that might crawl into it for a cool place to rest.

There are a number of styles of garden hose reels, including stainless garden hose reels and brass garden hose reels. A word of caution: avoid cheap plastic or aluminum garden hose reels that can bend, buckle or break – and may puncture your garden hose.

The better you treat your garden hose, the more likely it is to last for many years, giving you your full money’s worth.