Garden hoses are often taken for granted. We use them, we use them, we use them, until suddenly they’ve had enough and they spring a leak. Well, it might not be that dramatic, but I tell you, this DIY “How to Fix a Garden Hose” post is not one that I planned on writing.
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Yesterday in the kitchen I heard a strange noise over the din of the oven range fan.
“What is that?” I wondered.
I turned the fan off, turned off my podcasts and listened.
It sounded like running water…but I wasn’t doing laundry or using the dishwasher. Strange.
I went to the back yard and discovered my garden hose had burst and was gushing water all over the yard.
I am converting my backyard into a no-grass yard, so the grass is mostly dead but I’d used the hose that morning to water my raised garden bed with a spray nozzle.
And I hadn’t turned the water off.
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Lesson Learned: turn off the water if using a Spray Nozzle
So once the hose burst the water kept flowing. I’m glad I was home.
I guess there is a lesson here about turning off the water after you’ve watered the garden.
Brief Disclaimer
I am by no means an expert plumber, but this was a DIY task I was ready to tackle. I can’t guarantee your DIY job will turn out perfect after reading this, so if in doubt, ask someone to help you.
How to fix a Garden Hose Step #1 – What End of the hose do you need to replace?
Is the leak close to the female end, the male end of the hose or in the middle?
My leak was fairly close to the faucet end of the hose.
It was probably about 8-feet away from the wall tap.
Because I’d still have lots of “good” hose remaining, I decided to just replace the “female” end of the hose. This is the part that attached to the wall faucet.
It is kind of strange that hose ends have gender, but that’s how they are described.
The female end goes outside when coupled together, and it is therefore the male end that goes inside.
So I needed to replace the female end.
I have a tote in my shed of plumbing parts that I’ve accumulated over the years so I didn’t have to buy any new connections.
That’s why you’ll notice the hose clamp I use is slightly rusty, and I reused the black rubber gaskets (or O-rings) from the “old” female connector.
If you buy a new hose repair kit it may come with new rubber gaskets, and if not, inspect your current gaskets to see if they’re still good.
If you don’t have supplies just laying around like I do, you’ll want to buy a replacement kit.
But before you rush off and do that…keep reading…because you’ll need to know your hose’s size.
Step #2 – Measuring your Hose Diameter, then buying the right parts
If you do need to buy a new connection, you’ll need to know the inside diameter of your hose.
Garden hoses generally range from 1/2″ to 1″. Note, this is inside diameter.
If your hose is already blown apart, you can slice a piece of the off and bring it with you to your local hardware store.
Or just slice the hose and measure the inside diameter of the hose.
If you need more information on how to measure your hose I came across this article.
Step #3 – Cutting Your Garden Hose
I set my hose down onto a piece of wood and then used a sharp knife to create a nice, clean slice straight down.
You don’t want it crooked or jagged.
Step #4 – Slip the Hose Clamp over the “Good” piece of Hose
Now that you’ve got a nice straight cut slip your hose clamp over the hose.
Reminder that you are sliding it onto the “good” length of hose…not the damaged length.
Step #5 – Insert the “Barb” part of the Connector into the Hose
My hose was already warm and pliable because it had been sitting in the sun all day.
But if yours is stiff you may want to soak the end in warm water for 5-10 minutes to try and make it more flexible.
You push the barbed end of the female connector inside your hose. Push it in all the way.
Then you raise the hose clamp upward toward the end of the female connector.
Make sure the hose clamp is over top of the barbed piece, and tighten down the hose clamp.
Step #6 – Prepare to Adjust the Hose Clamp’s Position or Tighten it More.
My new connection is by no means perfect.
In fact, you could say it’s an example of “do what I say and not as I do.”
I told you I wasn’t an expert right. 🙂
But my goal was to fix a broken garden hose and not create a thing of beauty.
As you’ll see in the picture below I probably should have slid the barbed piece of my new female connector down into the hose further.
But the placement of the hose clamp IS catching the metal barb piece so I’m not overly worried.
To test my new connection I screwed the hose onto the wall faucet and attached my garden spray nozzle to the other end.
Why I chose this and not a sprinkler is because the spray nozzle doesn’t spray until I press the handle down: meaning the water in the line builds up some pressure.
When I turned the water on, and the water filled the hose, I noticed a small drip of water leaking from my new connection.
A little more tightening of the hose clamp solved this.
So be prepared to test your connection. Keep your screwdriver with you in case the hose clamp needs an extra turn.
How to Fix the Male Ends of the Garden Hose
You’ll see that fixing a male end of the garden hose is a very similar process to what I’ve just described.
If your hose bursts closer to the male end then that’s the end you’ll want to replace.
What if I my hose bursts right in the middle?
If your garden hose springs a leak right in the middle of the hose you won’t want to cut the hose in half and just discard the one half.
Instead, what you need to do is cut the hose twice.
Cut it on either side of the leak.
Then you have two options:
- You can put a male connector on half, and a female connector on the other half and screw them together
- Or you can get a hose joiner (like the one shown below), stick the barbed ends inside each end of your hose and tighten down the hose clamps.
You can see details on this hose joiner on Amazon.
Need a new garden hose?
If your garden hose is beyond repair, then invest in a good quality garden hose.
Someone once told me not to go cheap on garden hoses.
Here is my Rapid Flo 100ft garden hose review.
Here is my Flexi Hose 50ft garden hose review.
Thank you, and I hope this helps show you how to fix a garden hose, if you ever encounter the unfortunate situation of a blown hose.
Up Next:
7 great lawn alternatives (if you’re tired of tending to a grass lawn)
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