These tips will keep your garden hose kink free

The sun’s shining, your plants are thirsty, you’re running behind schedule — and then your hose kinks. It’s the worst, isn’t it? Fortunately, there are a few tricks to keeping your garden hose kink free so gardening doesn’t have to be a hassle every time you go outside to water your plants.

Watering your garden doesn’t need to be a two-person job; but because of hose kinks, it can easily become one. To avoid this and speed up your productivity, follow these helpful tips in keeping your garden hose kink free.

Purchase a Kink Free Garden Hose

If you’re in the market for purchasing a new garden hose, then you can actually purchase one that features non-kinking technology. Non-kink garden hoses are made with crush-proof materials that help keep the hose from bending. While still flexible enough for gardening, these hoses won’t kink, keeping the water flow steady and smooth.

Steel garden hoses and expandable hoses, even if not specifically labeled as being kink free, are other garden hose options that won’t kink when in use. Steel hoses are made up of a strong enough alloy that they can never bend into themselves, while expandable hoses remain compact until water flows through them, at which point they expand.

Lay the Hose Out Flat to Prevent Kinking

Before you turn on the water, one key way to keep a garden hose from kinking is by stretching the hose along a walkway, driveway, or patio until it is completely straight. From there, you can begin using it to water your plants, carefully dragging it in the direction you need.

Most hose kinking occurs because the hose is tangled and resting in a large heap. By simply taking a few minutes to lengthen out the hose before you use it, you exponentially increase your chances of having a steady flow of water while lowering the likelihood of a kink.

Store Your Hose on L-Hooks to Avoid Kinks

L-hooks are one of the smartest ways to store your garden hose, as they keep it untangled and easy to access. They can also help prevent kinking because even though the hose is bending into loops while stored on L-hooks, it’s at an open enough angle that the bend isn’t enough to block water flow.

Additionally, if you store your hose on L-hooks, you don’t need to unravel the entire hose every time you want to use it. Instead, you can simply unravel enough to reach the distance of your garden. Water will be able to easily pass through a hose stored on L-hooks and continue on to the hose’s spout with no problem.

How to Fix a Recurring Hose Kink

If you’re doing your best to store your hose properly and lay it out before use, but still struggling with a recurring kink, then you probably need to create a splint for the kink to help straighten it out and keep water flowing through it.

Splints are easy and affordable to install, and they can be made out of rigid, circular tubes and pipes. For example, a cut PVC pipe makes an ideal splint for a kinked garden hose, Once you’ve found the material you’d like to use for the splint, simply glide the splint over the hose until it rests on top of the kink. You want the split to constrict the hose enough that it will keep the kink from forming, while still being loose enough to allow water flow.

Why It’s Important to Keep Your Hose Kink Free

Along with impeding water flow, kinked hoses have some other serious outcomes. Cracks and leaks can result from hose kinks, completely rendering the hose useless. The older a hose is, the more likely this is to occur. However, it’s always a good idea to keep your hoses kink free, whether they are brand new or aging.

It’s also a smart move to keep your hose out of a kinked position even when it’s not in use, as this will help prevent it from forming a kink imprint in itself. It only takes a little bit of care to go a long way in preserving your garden hose for years to come.

Resources— Bob Vila, SF Gate, Homes to Love, Practical Gardening

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