Getting the most out of your Garden Hose Pipe

Getting the most from your Garden Hose Pipe

A garden hose pipe is a basic yet integral component in your garden watering/irrigation equipment list. It can be used for many different applications and with the right care should be expected to last you for many years. With so many available, choosing a hose pipe can be a daunting and confusing task. This guide aims to clarify everything, including all considerations you should make before purchasing your garden hose.

A Quick Guide to Watering

When to water

Watering your plants could take place all year round depending on weather conditions but, is most important during the summer months.

The best time to water your plants is early in the morning or late in the evening. This is to avoid evaporation loss on a warm or hot day and ensure the sun’s rays do not scorch the leaves of the plant because of water droplets on the leaves. Watering at this time of day is also beneficial as water has time to soak into the ground towards the roots further preventing evaporation and encouraging deeper root growth for healthier plants.

Aim your hose pipe at the base of your plants beneath the foliage canopy to make sure water goes directly to the roots where it is needed most, ensuring water is not lost in the air.

Top Watering Tip: Planters, hanging baskets and pots may require watering more than once per day as they tend to dry out faster than plants in the ground.

How much to water

It can be difficult to tell how much water your plants need as some plants require more than others. The most effective method of gauging how much water your plants need is to check the soil for moisture 10-15cm below the surface, (about the length of a garden trowel). If it is damp, then there is little need to water but if you find it to be drier, then watering is required.

Top Tip: Hose nozzles stimulate rain and absorb oxygen and nitrogen as droplets lightly spray over the garden. These are essential nutrients for growth and healthier plants

Over Watering your plants can cause the leaves to turn yellow and fall off at a faster rate than normal. This is because water pressure builds up inside the leaves and causes damage to the plant’s structure. The roots also require pockets of air between the soil to breathe and when the roots become waterlogged they are starved of oxygen.

Under Watering: When your plants appear to be wilting, the leaves begin to turn brown or feel dry to the touch then they require more water. You may also notice the compost or soil becoming visually paler in colour which is another indication your plants may be in need of more water.

Top Tip: Take the guess work out or watering your plants and invest in a Water Smart Flow Meter to help you measure the water you are using and give your plants exactly the amount they need. Always follow plant label guidelines when watering

Everything you need to know

Working Pressure

Working pressure refers to the maximum level of force water can run through a hose before the structure of the hose begins to weaken. Domestic water pressures direct from your outside tap will only be on average between 3-4 bar. Our Hydrosure garden hose pipes have the capacity for a maximum pressure between 4 and 7 bar; more than ample pressure to run your garden hose from your tap with confidence. Our Hydrosure hose pipes will work best on pressures under 4 bar.

For more information, see our Guide to Measuring Water Pressure

Kink Resistant

Kink resistance refers to the structure and layering of the hose. The more layers a hose pipe is made from, the more kink-resistant the hose is. Choosing a hose that is more kink resistant means water can flow freely through your hose and saves time when watering.

Top Tip: Repeated kinking of a hose pipe weakens its structure and makes the hose more prone to splitting. A good hose pipe resistant to kinks will ensure your hose pipe lasts a long time.

Phthalate Free

Our HydroSure hose pipes are made from phthalate-free materials to guarantee safety of use and ensure there are no harmful chemicals. This means our hose pipes are safe to use on your vegetable patch and when using a sprinkler round your garden.

Compatibility

Our Hydrosure range of hoses are available in 13mm, 19mm and 25mm internal diameter/bore. We have a range of connectors compatible with all internal bore sizes that will also be compatible with your current connectors.

Top Tip: Choose a larger internal diameter if you are working with higher pressures and require more water output from the hose pipe.

Helping You Choose

Hydrosure hose pipes offer a reinforced and multi-layered design constructed from hardwearing, high-quality materials for a reliable and long lasting hose pipe. Hydrosure hoses offer a superior wall thickness to provide kink, twist and pressure resistance for ultimate functionality from unravelling the hose without knotting to using the hose for most applications both domestic and commercial.

Hose Accessories and Attachments

There are a number of accessory connectors you can attach to your hose end connector to create the perfect level of spray for the plants you are watering. Most plants including younger and more delicate plants will require a more gentler spray achieved from a hose nozzle or gun. Use a Watering Lance for hard to reach places in the garden such as, when watering hanging baskets or if you have deep flower/shrub beds.

As most attachments are fitted with a water stop feature, they also have the added benefit of helping you prevent water wastage.

Top Tip: When turning your hose pipe on at the tap, make sure your nozzle is in the off setting to allow your hose to fill with water and build up enough pressure for use and stop you from getting wet.

Choosing the Right Length

Hydrosure hose pipes are available in a variety of lengths from 25 metres for smaller gardens to 200 metres for larger gardens or allotments.

Top Tip: to choose the right length of hose to suit you, measure from the tap to the furthest place in your garden and add 2-3 metres.

Multiple-Use Hose Pipe

Attach a hose nozzle to use your hose to clean mud off your bike or for bathing your dog.

You can also get creative to make your hose pipe work for you. Use a hose joiner to attach two hose pipes together for a longer hose.

Alternatively, you can use pipe cutters and hose joiners to create an easy to use hose pipe watering system, removing the need to unwind the hose pipe every time you want to water your garden.

Hose Maintenance

While Hydrosure hose pipes are made from high-quality materials and constructed for ultimate reliability and durability, you will need to care for your hose pipe to ensure long life.

Storage

To care for your hose pipe and prolong its life, store it safely by winding it around a hose hanger, storage cart, or hose reel.

Ensure your hose pipe is stored correctly and free from kinks, twists or bending. This helps to prevent any holes or splits occurring in the structure of your hose and allows un-restricted flow of water when in use.

Top Tip: Upon receiving your hose, unwind it carefully ensuring the hose does not kink and let it settle on the grass for an hour to remove any existing kinks which may cause damage to the structure.

Autumn/Winter Protection

During the Autumn and Winter months, empty the hose and connectors of any sitting water by working your way along the length of the hose pipe, picking up the end of the hose and holding it as high as you can to empty the water out. If water is left inside the hose and undergoes a process of freezing and thawing during the colder weather, this forces the walls of the hose pipe to bulge and damages the hose structure.

Be sure to store your hose pipe and connectors inside a shed or garage over Winter or if there is a risk of frost to protect your hose pipe from damage and extend the life of your hose.

Spring/Summer Storage

Most hose pipes have UV resistant properties and we recommend storing your hose away from direct sunlight when not in use. Leaving the hose out in the sun all day or for periods of time can cause your hose to harden and crack or even impair the inner tubing from heat damage. To maintain the life of your hose pipe, try to get into the habit of putting your hose back onto your hose reel or hose hanger each time you use it.

Top Tip: Similar to your plants, if you can avoid it, try not to water during really hot periods or when the sun is at its peak.

Draining your hose pipe of sitting water is not only important in Winter but, should also be done after each use. Regularly draining all of the water from your hose prevents algae and bacteria from building up inside the hose.

Hose Pipe Repairs

With repeated use, your hose pipe may split or crack and develop a leak. This does not mean you need to throw away your hose pipe instead, remove the hole/leak (saving as much of the hose as you can) using Pipe Cutters.

Then, use a hose joiner to re-connect and repair your hose pipe.

How to Connect a Hose Pipe to the Tap

The easiest way to connect your hose pipe to your water supply is using a quick click system. Our Hydrosure quick-click system is compatible with hose pipes from other leading brands and offers a practical and durable water tight solution.

Begin by using a threaded quick click tap connector and fasten it onto your tap. It is worth checking the thread size of your tap and purchasing the correct size tap connector to fit. The most common thread sizes is 3/4".

Top Tip: BSP Male has thread on the outside of the connector or tap and BSP Female has thread on the inside of the connector.

Next, attach a hose connector to the end of your hose pipe by unscrewing the nut off the fitting. Feed the hose through the nut and push the hose end into the castle grip/teeth like grips and screw the nut back onto the fitting with the hose attached. Be careful not to bend the castle grips/teeth back on themselves inside the connectors.

At the end of your hose, you will need to connect a hose end connector with an aqua stop or water stop. You can then insert an accessory connector with a quick click connector into the water stop. A water stop prevents water flowing through the hose end connector when detaching or changing from a spray gun to a watering lance for example. This prevents water wastage and the user getting wet.

The hose connector will easily click directly onto the tap connector for a water-tight seal. Simply pull back the touchpads and click the connector onto the male outlet of the tap connector. In order to detach the tap connector from the hose connector, squeeze the touchpads and unclick in a downward motion. Our Hydrosure Hose connector has comfort grips to make this an easier process even when your hands are wet.

Hose End Connectors

Spotlight - HydroSure SMT Smart Flex Hose Pipe

Durable and Longer Lasting Hose

If you are looking to invest in a hose pipe that offers ultimate kink and twist resistance, our SMT Smart Flex 25m hose has knitted and reinforced polyester layers professionally engineered to withstand extraordinary buckling and crush resistance. This means you can freely take the hose around your garden without the worry of disrupting the flow of water.

Special Features

• Expertly designed to allow for ultimate flexibility yet at the same time capable of preventing knots and kinks by passing any twists through the knit technology built into the hose to essentially untwist itself.

• Manufactured from 5 layers of high quality reinforced materials. The outer layer offers both durability and stability and the inner layers ensure clean and pollutant free water thanks to sun blocking technology and phthalate, lead, barium and cadmium free construction.

• The combination of leading and innovative smart technology this hose provides means you can even stand on it and it will not alter its performance.

Superior Quality for Professional Use

The SMT Smart Flex hose offers a superior wall thickness of 2.25mm and is designed to cope with water pressures up to 40 bar making it suitable for use with a pressure washer or to supply a high-pressure sprinkler system. The SMT hose also offers a 25 Year Warranty for a reliable and longer-lasting hose pipe.

To further compliment the excellence and long lasting properties of this hose, you may prefer to use Brass Connectors alongside the hose pipe for extra durability and crush resistance than plastic connectors.

Features we love

Textile and Expandable Hoses

Expandable Hose Pipes are made from textile materials that are flexible, lightweight, and easy to manoeuvre, yet are strong enough to withstand all domestic water pressures and can be dragged over rough surfaces. All our textile hoses are a perfect solution for new gardeners and beginners to garden irrigation as they arrive ready to use as part of a set complete with leak-free fittings and connectors.

Short on Space: Expandable Hose Pipes are easily wound around a hose hanger or garden tap. Our range of expandable hoses provides even more space-saving efficiency as they expand up to three times their length when water is run through.

Top Tip: Expandable hoses are not suitable for use with pressure washers or water pumps.

Shop Lightweight Hoses

Connecting your Hose Pipe to the Kitchen Tap

Use a Mixer Tap/Kitchen Tap Hose Connector to attach your hose pipe to your indoor tap. We have a variety of Indoor Tap Connectors to fit both square and round indoor taps.

Top Tip: Make sure you check the size and shape of your indoor tap before purchasing your tap connector to ensure you buy the correct connector for your tap.

Shop Indoor Tap Connectors

Irrigation System

Manually watering your garden can prove to be time-consuming so you may be interested in building an irrigation system to automate your garden watering. Not only does an irrigation system save you time, but will also prevent water wastage by delivering water directly to the roots where it is needed most.

We have a range of ready-made Watering kits available or if you prefer to learn more about garden irrigation, visit our Advice Centre.

Shop Irrigation Kits

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Getting the most from your Garden Hose Pipe

A Quick Guide to Watering