If you water plants frequently with a hose, you should be familiar with the dreaded hose kinks that reduce or completely stop water flow because of tangling. Once your garden hose is bent along a straight line or about certain degrees, the hose can kink or wrap about a point.
To return to the status quo where water flowed freely along the pipe you must find a way to unkink the hose. Kinking is a common problem with low quality and poorly stored hoses for those who have developed the habit of piling up the hose in dirt immediately after use. Sooner or later your hose will kink.
Kinking can cause water discoloration and in severe cases, the kinks become so bad that leakages become the order of the day. This is a problem very regular Gardner hates.
Why Garden Hoses Kink?
Kinks are particularly annoying if you are running against the clock and need to get all gardening needs done. More often than not you might need to retrace your steps backward in search for kink areas. Once you locate them, the problem can be solved by just straightening out the hose. There are two reasons why garden hose kink often:
- Improper Storage: If you don’t make use of a hose reel or L-hooks, chances are you more than often roll up your hose in a pile. Doing this can kink the hose in areas of induced stress.
- Age and low-Quality Hose: Old hoses that have gone rigid can easily kink if they are slightly bent. Rigid hoses are more prone to cracks and leaks than non-rigid hoses. The best way to store out an old hose that has gone rigid is to stretch them out along the path of your lawn or garden rather than wounding it up on a hose reel.
Fixing the Kinks on Garden Hose
In the event that you are already experiencing kinks in your hose, there are ways you can mitigate the problem to get more garden life out of it. Kinks are pointers to the fact that you either have a low-quality hose or you have been storing them in a very bad manner.
- To fix the regular occurrence of kinks in your hose, straighten them out along the walkway or around your patio. Stretch the hose along the path just under the sun and leave it for up to an hour till it becomes malleable.
- Once it has been heated up by the sun, the soft and pliable nature should make the hose more willing to store without entangling it. If you don’t see the sun often, immense the hose in a hot water bath for about an hour till it becomes malleable.
If the above procedure doesn’t work for you, try bracing up the kinks with a part of the hose itself. To do this, cut one end of the hose with a knife (about 10cm), then create a little slit at one end. Next, slide the shortened hose over the kinked area aided by the slightly cut slit. The reinforced brace will act as a splint to allow you to use your hose without troubling yourself about the kinked area again.
In very severe cases where kink areas metamorphosed into leakages, fixing this might require more drastic measures. You might need to cut out the kinked area and use connectors to remedy the situation.
Prevent Kinks Before They Happen
Drain water from the hose after use and store them in such a way that loops don’t develop. Using a hose reel can help create a loose set of coils that will prolong the life of the hose. Alternatively, instead of using a hose reel, install L-hooks in the garden or on the back wall of your patio.
To store your hose along two L-hooks, drape one end over one hook and coil the other end over the second L-hook. Repeat this till you have completely coiled the hose around both L-hooks. Using two L-hooks to hang your hose eliminates the stress associated with hanging it on one L-hook.
Finally, to avoid kinks in the future, invest in a quality expandable hose that is less likely to kink. While shopping for a new hose, coil the hose about 2 feet or bend it about 90 degrees on itself to see if it kinks.