We have always had a hosepipe for our garden. We generally use it for watering the garden particularly the containers and pots, washing the car and general cleaning of the patio. We also use it for filling up the bird bath and cleaning out the big bins.
Why Do You Need A Garden Hosepipe?
Are you watering a small or large number of plants in pots or containers, your lawn or other plants?
Do you intend to wash your car or motorhome at home?
Do you need it to clean your patio?
Do you need it to fill a birdbath, child's paddling pool or dog bath?
Over the years we have had several different types of hosepipes and while we do restrict its use for eco reasons and cost reasons we do find certain tasks are so much easier for us with hosepipe.
Hosepipes can make everyday tasks like watering gardens, cleaning patios, filling paddling pools, cleaning and filling bird baths and dog baths easier and quicker. However there are different types of hosepipe that may suit different needs, budgets and uses.
Standard Hosepipes
This was my first hosepipe and one I replaced more often than I can remember. Very affordable and widely available, standard hosepipes are within most peoples budgets and do the job. They are usually made of plastic or rubber.
In my experience while I never expected them to last too long, the biggest issue with them was the constant checking and releasing kinks that prevented proper water flow.
I understand now that you can buy kink-resistant coils to help with this issue or even hoses with kink resistant features in affordable models. They are a decent affordable option if you buy one with this feature.
Expandable Garden Hosepipes
This was our previous hosepipe and I loved it! These hoses shrink when empty, making them much smaller, lightweight and very easy to store.
When in use, they expand to their full length as water flows through them. I found it was important to let the entire hose fill with water and fully expand before starting to use. Being expandable meant it was really easy to store and crucially to move around.
It was so lightweight. I also liked the various spray nozzle features such as mist, fan, cone and shower. The handle on my model however did have to be kept pressed down which if doing a long watering session I found hard on my hand. So I would now always buy one that you can clip in place to stay on.
We had ours for nearly two years and were very careful about storing it inside in winter. However it did not survive the second winter and split one day beyond repair.
It was really good for our garden while it lasted and I was very impressed. So easy and light to use. I think that maybe it got too much use and being dragged across sharp gravel and concrete may not have been good for it. I wonder if it is maybe better for lighter duties. Otherwise our expandable was a really excellent hosepipe. If I got an expandable one again I would look for a heavy duty option like the one below.
Steel-Core Hosepipes
Our recent purchase is a steel core hosepipe and we spent rather more than we ever have on this one as we wanted durability as a primary function. It is built for strength and to be long lasting. Steel-core hosepipes are reinforced with metal, which makes them much more resistant to annoying kinks and splits or punctures.
I can certainly say that it feels more robust and copes well with our gravel drive and concreted steps and many changes in direction as I go around the garden. It has not kinked or split or punctured and is easy and fairly lightweight to use. I thought it would be heavier but it is really very easy to move around.
I love that it has many spray nozzle features such as full, mist, jet, cone spray etc which gives a lot of choice in how you use it.
One of the features is for the spray to stay on when a clip is pulled over so it reduces strain on the hands as you no longer have to hold the lever down. These steel core hoses are certainly more expensive, but the idea and my hope is that they last longer.
Features To Consider In Garden Hoses
- Storage Space. Some Hosepipes come with with hooks and wall mounted features. If you like a tidy garden wall-mounted reels are a great solution for storing the hosepipe preventing damage and tangles. An automatic rewinding device is an even greater feature to make life a bit easier. Or are you happy to store in a bucket or bag?
- The handle should be a comfortable grip and ideally be able to be held down with a clip or similar. This saves a lot of pressure on our hands constantly having to hold a handle down. It makes watering a lot easier and then only light hold of the handle is required.
- Spray nozzle choices. For me I like a wide range of spray nozzle features to choose from. So I mostly use a mist for plants that need a gentle spray, jet for cleaning the car or patio area, full or shower for general watering and cone for spraying the larger areas such as grass on the lawn or newly seeded areas.
- Anti kink abilities. Maybe this is a pet hate of mine but i cannot cope with a hosepipe that is constantly kinking and stopping the flow of water, so for me and maybe for you this is important.
- Durability for your needs. Are you using it for light jobs such as watering pots or heavier use for a range of activities. Will it be dragged across difficult surfaces or a smooth patio or well mown grass?
- Budget. There maybe a balance cost as you can buy hosepipes very cheaply or rather more expensive. However the higher the quality and guarantee available the hope is the longer they will last, thus saving money in the long term.
Disadvantages Of Using A Hosepipe.
For water saving strategies hosepipes are probably not the best for watering a garden. Water here is expensive now and so using less water has become a mission for many people.
So if you can water your garden with a watering can either via a tap or ideally by using a rain water butt or a trough then you could save money on water bills that way.
We may in a hot summer face a hosepipe ban where it is not permitted to use a hosepipe for anything, except in special circumstances.
Using a hosepipe is probably not the most eco friendly item to use if we are trying to save water.
Using a hosepipe can work out more expensive for your water bills, depending on how you use it and if you are on a standard charge or a water metre.
Advantages of Using A Garden Hose
For me using anything but a smaller watering can to water our garden plants is difficult. I have a back issue and while most of the time now it is under control, there are some things that will set it off and sadly using a watering can full of water and walking down our steps to the garden can and does result in pain for me. I only usually water plants in pots, other plants in the ground can usually survive without watering.
Equally for my husband who is severe sight impaired it is less dangerous for him to hold a hosepipe and do a lot of watering without having to move too much than it is for him to have to constantly walk up and down to the tap and navigating steps and a gate to do so.
Perhaps for some people with certain disabilities and some people who are older a hosepipe may be a better option than carrying a heavy full watering can.
Washing our car at a commercial jet wash or car wash involves driving quite a way, then paying for it. At home we can wash the suds on the car using a bucket and car wash and simply rinse off with the hosepipe for a cheaper and more convenient way to wash the car.
We do not pay anyone to clean our big wheelie bins, we do that ourselves using suds and a brush then rinse it all out with the hosepipe.
There are many hosepipe options to choose from, including not having a hosepipe at all. I hope I have managed to cover some of the main features and qualities to consider, the basic choices available and main features to help the decision which to buy to suit your needs a little easier.
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