What every new homeowner should know: how to choose a garden hose

For homeowners, garden hoses are indispensable for many reasons, including watering the garden, washing the car or playing with the kids. If you're new to home ownership then here are some helpful hints for buying a quality garden hose that will work best for you.

Different hoses are best suited for different tasks, although they may superficially appear identical.  Among the more common types of garden hoses are:

Standard hoses
A standard garden hose is a solid rubber or vinyl tube that connects to your home’s water supply.

• If you need extra distance, or simply don’t like winding your hose up on a hose hanger after every use, find a coiled expandable model that stretches out when you turn on the water, but then shrinks down again for easy storage.

Sprinkler hoses
Sprinkler hoses have tiny holes along the length that send mist into the air that make them great for irrigating your lawn.

• Some sprinkler hoses have holes all the whole way around their circumference to perform double-duty as a sprinkler and a soaker hose.

Soaker hoses
Soaker hoses are porous and can be buried under mulch in your garden or flower beds. That way, water reaches you plants’ roots directly and wastes less water.

• They deliver water exactly as their name suggests – by soaking the ground with a slow, constant trickle vs. a spray or mist.

Flat hoses
Flat hoses are much easier to store when they’re flat, but they also kink easily.

• Get a flat hose if you want to save space without sacrificing length. A garden hose reel or garden hose holder will make rolling these hoses up much easier.

Camper/RV hoses
Both compact and made with non-toxic interiors, camping hoses are used for drinking water at the RV park.

Commercial hoses
For heavy-duty jobs, a commercial hose can stand high pressure for a stronger spray.

• You may need a high-pressure hose to operate some equipment, like industrial or residential pressure washers.
• Commercial hoses tend to be heavier because of the thicker gauge of rubber used. However, their durability offsets this issue.

When choosing a garden hose, you’ll need one that matches the task at hand but that is also sized for your yard and which can be used with other types of equipment. Here are some features that can help make your garden hose even more practical.

Nozzle
You’ll need to match your hose nozzle to the equipment you plan to hook up to it. Look for a standard twist-on nozzle in resilient brass if you’re using standard home gardening equipment.

• You may need extra garden hose fittings to connect to other pieces of equipment.

Size
Hoses come in different lengths and diameters.

• If you require a greater volume of water to, for example, fill an above-ground pool, look for a larger diameter hose.
• Consider the size of your garden when choosing a hose. A longer 100-foot length helps you reach those bushes at the opposite end of a bigger yard, but is harder to coil up and heavier to drag around. If you don't need to water the far corners very often, you may want to buy two shorter hose lengths and connect the second section only when you need it.

Hoses are generally made from vinyl or rubber, with rubber being more durable.

• A rubber hose will be heavier and more expensive, but less likely to kink or crack.
• Vinyl is a more affordable and lightweight option but is prone to breaking and kinking easily. However, you can buy kink-resistant hoses.

A garden hose is an essential tool for cleaning, gardening and having fun with the kids in summer. Now that you know more about garden hoses, you can find a hose that’s perfect for the jobs you need to do.