How to Choose the Right Garden Hose

A garden hose is an essential piece of outdoor equipment, whether your lawn stretches across several acres or you have a simple patio garden to manage. There are many uses for a garden hose, including watering grass and plants, rinsing off backyard toys, and washing your car.Take a trip to your local hardware or big box store and you will find numerous kinds of garden hoses sitting on the shelves.  Take a little time to consider all the options so that you purchase a garden hose that will fit your watering needs.

 Length

Garden hoses are available in increments of 25 feet, usually 25 to 100 feet in total length. Water pressure diminishes as the hose length increases, so buy a hose that's long enough to reach where you'll be using it and no longer. If you occasionally require a long hose, buy two shorter ones and combine when needed. Shorter hoses are available to extend to hard-to-reach spigots or for patio use.

Material and Budget

With all the garden hoses on the shelf looking pretty much the same, you might be tempted to go with the cheapest price tag. It’s a garden hose, after all, it just needs to spray out water. Unfortunately, not all garden hoses are created equal.Vinyl and vinyl-reinforced hoses are inexpensive, lightweight and easy to handle. Rubber hoses and hoses reinforced with rubber are heavier and more durable. Reinforced hoses stand up to temperature changes better and are less likely to kink or burst. Extra flexible, lightweight, easy-to-store plastic hoses are another option.

Coupling

The coupling is where the hose attaches to the water supply. Your two main choices are metal and plastic. Brass is more durable than plastic but may be difficult for anyone with limited hand strength to tighten to the spigot. For easy hand-tightening, choose a hose with an ergonomically shaped plastic coupling. Some hoses are reinforced near the coupling to help prevent kinking at the faucet.