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We lead busy lives and it’s easy to forget things. The hose is one of those things that gets dragged out into the yard with a sprinkler for the grass. It’s also played with by the kids all summer long. As a matter of fact, if you stop and ask yourself where your hose is right this second, there’s a good chance that you have no idea if you have kids.
You’re probably tired of replacing hoses and paying for the excess water bill over the leaks that it springs constantly too. Garden hoses aren’t cheap and replacing them gets expensive. There are things that you can do to help your hoses last longer and we’ll go over some of this today with you, as well as the causes of outdoor plumbing issues and problems.
Protecting Your Garden Plumbing
In addition to your garden hose, there is a lot of other outdoor plumbing that helps keep your home looking its best.
Unlike your indoor plumbing, however, your outdoor fixtures are always exposed to the elements and sun. This makes them considerably more susceptible to damage and could cause a major issue in your home if ignored.
While the garden hose is the easiest thing to address, also be on the lookout for outdoor drains, fixtures, and hose connections, as they can also be a liability for your home’s plumbing system. Keeping them clean and free of debris is the simplest way to keep your outdoor plumbing in the best shape possible.
Is Sun Breakage a Concern?
The winter isn’t the only time of year that you can have costs and issues with your water lines outside. The sun is very hard on things and when temperatures rise on the hottest days of the year, if your hose is laying out in that sun all day long, rather than rolled-up in the shade, it’s going to expand and then contract when the air cools at night.
This expansion and contraction causes wear and tear on the fittings at each end of the hose as well as the material of the hose itself. The hose will start to break down. The result? Cracks and leaks. Garden plumbing is susceptible to being worn from excessive heat.
The sun can cause what is often referred to as ‘dry rot’ which will even cause PVC pipes to break down over time. Rubber gaskets will become dry and brittle from excessive heat and allow drips to start. Those will eventually turn into constant leaks. When seals and gaskets begin leaking, your water bill might start creeping up.
When Water Use Seems Excessive
At first, those leaks that start won’t be big. It may happen so slowly that your water bill creeps up just a bit each month. Let’s explore how that can happen quite easily.
If your garden hose is connected to a second hose, because maybe you need a hundred feet of hose to reach the trees out back, that means that you’ve got the connection at the spigot, the connection between both hoses, and the nozzle at the end of the last hose.
That’s three places for potential leaks. Most garden hoses can produce 17 gallons of water per minute. One drop of water each second can be 3000 gallons per year. Three leaks from a garden hose that are spraying water out could potentially cause four or five times as much and you might be using an extra 1000 to 2000 gallons of water per month.
Not only are you spending money you don’t need to spend, but the planet also doesn’t have an endless supply of water either. Take the time to check your hoses regularly. Wind them up into the shade each day and leave the water on as you do. You’ll be able to see leaks and repair them or replace them as quickly as possible.
Connections can have new gaskets added for a few cents. A leaking hose should be replaced if the wall is cracked. It will save you hundreds of dollars to replace it right now. At Roman Plumbing Inc. we want you to know good habits that will save you tons of money.
