How to Repair a Soaker Hose
Discovering that your soaker hose has sprung a leak that looks like Old Faithful is aggravating, and buying a new soaker hoses can be expensive. However, a leaky soaker hose isn't reason to relegate your soaker hose to the landfill. All it takes is an inexpensive hose splicer available at any garden supply store, along with just a few minutes of your time, and your soaker hose will be just like new.
Turn on the water so you can easily locate the hole in the soaker hose. Tie a piece of string around the area so you can identify the damaged spot.
Turn off the water, and using scissors or a sharp knife, cut the hose in two places, with a cut made an inch away from the hole, on both sides.
Measure the inside diameter of the hole. Hose splicers are available in 1/2-inch, 5/8-inch and 3/4-inch diameters.
- Discovering that your soaker hose has sprung a leak that looks like Old Faithful is aggravating, and buying a new soaker hoses can be expensive.
- Turn on the water so you can easily locate the hole in the soaker hose.
Loosen the screws from the clamp on one side of the hose splicer, but don't remove the clamp. Loosening the screws will enable you to access the barbed insert underneath.
Push and twist the plastic, barbed insert into the hose. The connector will fit very snugly. If you have trouble inserting the barbed connector, rub a bit of dish soap on inside of the hose. Slide the clamps in place over the hose, but don't tighten the screws yet.
Loosen the clamps on the other side of the hose splicer. Join the two hoses by pushing and sliding the other side of the barbed insert into the second cut hose end, using a drop of dish soap, if necessary.
- Loosen the screws from the clamp on one side of the hose splicer, but don't remove the clamp.
Tighten the screws of the clamps on both sides of the hose splicer. Tighten the screws a little at a time, first one side and then the other, so the screws will be tightened evenly.
Turn on the water to be sure the leak is gone. Tighten the screws more firmly, if necessary.
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Writer Bio
M.H. Dyer began her writing career as a staff writer at a community newspaper and is now a full-time commercial writer. She writes about a variety of topics, with a focus on sustainable, pesticide- and herbicide-free gardening. She is an Oregon State University Master Gardener and Master Naturalist and holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction writing.
