Leaky Garden Hose? Learn to Fix It Yourself
Are your water bills creeping up? Have you noticed that when you use your garden hose, that there are unexplained puddles on the ground? Then you may be experiencing a leak with your hose which needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.
How to Locate the Leak
The first step to solving a garden hose leak is to determine where it’s coming from. To do this, attach the spray nozzle to your hose and turn on the water, and see where leaks sprout up.
The pressure inside the pipe will make them easy to spot. If the leaks are located on the hose itself, make sure to use a marker to circle the affected area so that you can easily find it once the water is shut off.
Is Your Hose Bib Leaking?
If your leak is coming from the faucet which connects your hose to your plumbing system (also referred to as a “hose bib”), then make sure to check the connections to see if anything is worn out.
The first thing to check out is your packing nut, which connects the faucet together. If it’s loose, just use a standard wrench to tighten it, which should solve the issue.
If it’s still leaking, wrap the stem of the faucet with Teflon tape to prevent further leaking, and push the packing nut into place over the top of it and tighten as needed.
If the packing nut appears to be intact, then the next area to inspect is your washer. The washer in your hose bib may wear out over time and may need to be replaced. If the washer needs to be replaced, pull the hose bib from the wall and use a screwdriver to quickly remove the washer.
Then, install a new washer and push the hose bib back into the wall, and turn on the water supply to enjoy a leak-free flow.
Is Your Hose Connector the Issue?
If your hose connector appears to be leaking, the first thing to do is inspect the gasket to see if it has been damaged or compromised in some way and needs to be replaced.
If your gasket is intact, then you need to replace the end of your hose.
Luckily this can be done quickly and easily by snipping off the end of your hose and using a hose barb kit to replace the end of your hose in no time at all.
Is the Problem With Your Hose?
Resolving a leak with your hose is one of the easiest things you can do: simply purchase a hose repair kit, and use garden shears to cut off the affected section of hose (the marks you made earlier are helpful now). Then, use the clamps and coupler included in the kit to reattach the sections of hose.
Call A&A Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling in San Antonio, TX at 210-566-2665 and get professional, high-quality plumbing solutions to keep leaks from surprising you.