Prevention of Frosty Garden Hoses

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prevention of frosty garden hoses

It is that time of the year again when you get to enjoy the holidays, make yourself cozy near the fire, and sip the hot coco with marshmallows. However, if you are garden person you can feel a little down for all the loss of activities throughout this season that you could have indulged yourself in your garden.

You are also perhaps, tad bit disappointed too because you are worried whether all the plants that you have in your garden will make it through this winter. However, there are certain things that you need to remember if you are an ardent gardener, or have a garden or a front porch space that you like to spruce up every now and then.

Remember that the winters are that time of the year that can freeze up your garden hose and create a whole lot of trouble for you which can result in not just weakening the lining of your hose but also causing water pressure problems inside your house if the hose is connected to the pipelines of your house.

This in turn can cause the pipelines to burst thus flooding your house and also costly water damage to your house. Therefore you must remember to take proper measures to not just reduce but completely eliminate the risk of frozen pipes during the cold season. Here are some ways that will explain to you how you can go about it.

prevention of frosty garden hosesTurn off the Spigot

Do not forget at any cost to turn off that water spigot outside your house. Turning the spigot off prevents any additional water from entering the hose from the pipeline that it is connected to and also prevents other pipes from bursting.

Remember when water freezes it expands thus increasing the pressure too throughout the plumbing which can cause breakage and leakage to the pipelines. Also remember to disconnect the hose, drain it and store it somewhere safe. If your spigot is not frost proof then close the interior shut off valve that leads to the faucet of the spigot, then open and drain the spigot, and install an external faucet insulator which are pretty reasonably priced and are easily available in the market.

Clean your pipeline

While running the monthly or bimonthly maintenance of your pipelines remember to clean the hose and straighten it removing all the kinks.

Drain your Hose Thoroughly

If there is any remaining water inside your hose make sure to drain it off before you decide to give your garden a winter break. This will prevent the freezing up of any remaining water inside your garden hose and prevent any damage. Also remove all the attachments like sprinklers, spray nozzles and the likes to drain the water off the mouth of the hose too.

Wind and Store

After disconnecting your garden hose from the spigot, draining it, and drying it properly you must wind it in a circular shape to prevent it from bending too much or catching a kink which may result in breakage. Loop it around loosely and store it somewhere warm in your house. Warm storage is recommended so that the hose does not get brittle and crack due to the cold. Either place it in a large bucket or you can just hang it loosely on a hose hanger.

Apart from these immediate steps you might also want to make sure that there is no snow or ice restricting your drainage, because if the drainage is blocked freezing could occur thus plunging your house into a realm of cold, damp, and flood. If possible schedule an annual maintenance too with a reliable professional plumbing agents just before the winter kicks in, and you can be sure that you plumbing will be safe throughout the winter.