Garden hoses don’t last forever.
Mine sprung a leak while I was trying to power wash our house.
Instead of throwing away the hose I decided to fix it. The repair parts cost less than $9.
Maybe you’re in the same predicament as me and have a hose that needs TLC.
Even if you don’t, I’m willing to bet this tutorial will totally come in handy down the road.
It’s the small fixes (like this one) that make me happy. But my first two attempts were complete duds.
Today I’ll share my failures and my glorious successes so that you can be a better DIYer than me. Let’s get started 🙂
Garden Hose Repair Tips
Oh, I almost forgot – I have a bonus tip.
Sometimes the male end of garden hoses goes bad. This is the end that screws into your hose sprayer.
Instead of scrapping my hose I fixed this, too.
Again, the parts are cheaper than a new hose.
Man I love saving money by DIYing. I geek out on this stuff.
Here’s your supply list
- Metal Clamp Hose Mender by Gilmour ($3)
- Male Hose Mender by Orbit ($5)
- Miter Box ($8)
- Hacksaw ($5)
- Phillips Head Screw Driver (FREE or Borrow)
- Flat Head Screw Driver (FREE or Borrow)
Yep, pretty short supply list.
Here’s what you’ll learn
- How to do a Garden Hose Repair
But first let me show you my two failures. That way you won’t make the same mistakes.
How NOT to Fix a Garden Hose
I love trying new products.
A few months back I used Fiber Fix to resurrect my broken hammer.
That project turned out awesome!
And a few fans asked what I thought of using Fiber Fix for leaky pipes.
So I took this opportunity to see if Fiber Fix could fix a leaky garden hose.
The kit only cost $5. I followed the directions to a T.
But alas my Fiber Fix repair couldn’t stop the hose from leaking.
That was failure #1.
I was bummed to say the least and feel like Fiber Fix could be a good temporary solution to a dire pipe leak.
Certainly not the best permanent fix.
That said, I still recommend using it for broken tools like shovels, hammers, or other stuff.
My second experiment dealt with a new product by Loctite called GO2 Repair Wrap.
I saw this product in the paint section of Lowe’s and actually drove back to buy it.
It’s a rubberized wrap that helps seal leaks. In fact the packaging uses the word “waterproof”.
My hopes were high and I applied the GO2 wrap around the leak per the directions.
Again, the water leak reappeared.
DANG it!!!!
I was more disappointed than mad. The GO2 wrap cost about $4 and wasn’t a huge expense.
Maybe the garden hose had too much flexibility in it. Nonetheless, I was bummed it didn’t work.
I actually tried the GO2 Wrap before the Fiber Fix since it seemed like the simplest repair of the two.
If you’re in a pinch and need to fix a gusher of a leak then GO2 Repair Wrap could certainly help.
With my two failures out of the way I had one last hope. And I wasn’t disappointed.
The Right Way to Repair Garden Hoses
Now for the real deal.
It’s such a simple setup but the metal hose mender WORKS!!
Otherwise I’d be crying right now if I had 3 failures.
You need to cut out the section of hose that has the leak.
For me, I had to cut out the section of hose that had the Fiber Fix on it.
Use a miter box and hacksaw to cut your hose.
Then slip the two hose clamps onto each side of your hose.
Slide the mender into the hose sections and tighten the clamps using a flat head screw driver.
Test your repair and I bet you won’t see any leak. If you do, just tighten the hose clamps more until the leak disappears.
This literally took 5 minutes. I know because my wife gave me a 5 minute warning that we had to leave for the pool!!!
The best part is you don’t need a ton of time or skills to get this done.
Check out my video for the bonus tip and to see my two failed attempts. What can I say, DIY isn’t always perfect 😀
What’s Next
Now that the garden hose is fixed you can learn how to edge a flower bed – I promise great results!
If you’re doing a bathroom remodel and need help, join one of our online courses – they’ll make your bathroom renovation much easier!
Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help.
Thanks as always for reading, watching, and being part of our awesome community.
Cheers,
Jeff
