Items to Consider When Selecting a Garden Hose
Watering is an important part of maintaining your landscape design and a garden hose is a common way to get to those spots your irrigation system may be missing. Although in Southern California being water conscious is important, it’s equally important to keep your yard looking as good as possible. There are a few items to consider when choosing the correct garden hose for your property. It’s not as obvious as grabbing an expensive hose off the shelf at your local garden center. Many homeowners are unsure as to what to look for when buying a garden hose. Depending on the type of hose you use, it can make watering your garden feel like a relaxing hobby or a troublesome chore.
Many elements of a garden hose go ignored by homeowners, we’ll go over a few items to pay attention to when buying your next garden hose.
Durability and Material
With a few exceptions, garden hoses are made of rubber, vinyl or polyurethane. Though the most hoses used in homes is made from rubber, as this material typically is more durable and less likely to kink. Vinyl hoses cost and weigh less, but they’re typically not as durable as the rubber counterpart. Rubber hoses are heavier and can cost more, but are often more durable and less likely to kink. Hoses made of a combination of vinyl and rubber tend to be a good midrange solution. They’re usually more affordable than rubber hoses and more durable than vinyl hoses.
When shopping for a garden hose, you’ll often come across labels such as light duty, medium dusty, heavy duty, super duty. You may be inclined to purchase a super duty hose expecting it to be the best, however when it comes to garden hoses its best practice buy only what you need. If your needs require a short distance over grass, there is no need to carry around a super duty hose as it will weigh more and do the same job as a light or medium duty hose while not requiring the durability of the super duty hose. Though if you need to drag the hose over gravel and rougher terrain, or if the hose is going to be under the blistering sun, then a heavy or super duty hose should be preferred.
Storage
The sun can cause rubber in hoses to degrade over time. To increase the longevity of your hose, consider storing your hose in a container or a shady side of your home. There are many decorative storage solutions as well. Reel’s can be installed either on the side of the home near the hose bib. These are commonly used due to their affordability and simplicity though there is a market for decorative reels that can accent your landscape design, or hidden reels to avoid seeing it at all. A popular choice is to hide it in a decorative hose pot.
Attachments
Though you can definitely water your plants without any attachment, we’ve all put our thumb at the end of a hose to shower our gardens. Having an attachment for your hose is incredibly useful. Nozzles and water wands are the most useful when watering due to their versatility in watering options. Sprinkler heads can be used when you don’t have the time to focus on your yard and garden.
The attachment point from the hose bib to the hose is also important. Quality hoses often have a plastic or rubber “collar” extending perhaps four to six inches up the hose from the main connection point. This reduces the odds of a kink or split near the spigot, where they commonly occur.
Kink Control
Sadly there is no such thing as a kink free hose. Many may be advertised as being kinkfree but even they will occasionally kink. Many times the best way to control the kink is to buy the appropriate hose. Thicker, heavier duty hoses may kink more often due to being more rigid. If hose kinks are your main concern, lighter duty hoses often make it easier to remove the kink by tugging on it.
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