At the same time I’m not naive enough to think that somebody threw away a garden hose because it was in good working order.
I ended up finding a small hole in the hose. But for $1.92 I fixed the hose and now it works perfect.
Have you thrown out a garden hose that has a hole, or because one of the ends got run over by a car or the lawn mower?
Does it drive you crazy if you see a little drip coming from one of the ends?
Stop fretting over your hose and fix it yourself!
Confession time. I just learned how to fix these common problems… The good news? So can you!
Fixing the Female End
Most hoses are 5/8 inch or 1/2 inch. If it’s dripping where the female end connects to the spigot or hose most likely you need to simply replace the rubber washer inside.
You can get a 10 pack for under $4.
You replaced the washer and it’s still leaking. Many times it leaks on the metal ribs of the hose. If that’s the case you need to fix it.
- Make a clean/straight cut through the hose
- Purchase a female mender for your size hose. Not sure of the size? Bring a piece of your hose to the hardware store.
- I like the metal ones that use a simple hose clamp, picture 1 (much cheaper than the metal clamp with screws, picture 2).
- Put the clamp over the hose and then push the mender as far as it allows.
- Tighten the clamp about a quarter of an inch below the top of the mender and tighten along one of the ribs.
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Picture 1
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Picture 2
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Picture 3
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Fixing the Male End
Once again start with a washer check. It’s always a good idea to replace the washer if unsure.
- Make a clean/straight cut through the hose
- Purchase a male mender for your size hose. Not sure of the size? Bring a piece of your hose to the hardware store.
- I like the metal ones that use a simple hose clamp, picture number one (much cheaper than the metal clamp with screws, picture 2). I ended up using one similar to picture 3 because I had an extra lying around the house.
- Put the clamp over the hose and then push the mender as far as it allows.
- Tighten the clamp about a quarter of an inch below the top of the mender and tighten along one of the ribs.
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Picture 1
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Picture 2
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Picture 3
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Fixed Male End
Fixing a hole in the middle of the hose
- Make a clean/straight cut through the hose.
- Purchase a mender for your size hose. Not sure of the size? Bring a piece of your hose to the hardware store.
- If the hose doesn’t have a line make one with a Sharpie marker. Combine the line to keep the same curve in the hose otherwise the hose will not want to wrap properly.
- Make sure clamp is nice and tight (use a socket wrench if you can’t tighten enough with a regular screw driver.
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Picture 1
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Picture 2
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Picture 3
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I prefer using metal because they last longer and have less problems even though they cost a little more.
With the first mender you need to know the exact size of the hose but costs a lot less than the second mender.
They also come in the plastic variety like picture 3.
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