How To Check If Garden Pipe Is Leaking

If you use a garden hose for any type of yard work, you will eventually be asking yourself, why does my garden hose leak? Occasionally a leaky hose might be as simple as a loose connection at the faucet that is easily remedied with a quick turn of the joint. Other times, you might need a serious fix.

Once something begins to leak, if a tightening of the hose connection at the spigot head doesn't solve the problem, or if the leak is found elsewhere, there is a good chance it will get worse. The most common reason for joint or spout leakage is due to a breakdown of the connection of the hose or nozzle fittings. The following will explain the most simple reasons for this and how to fix it up!

Where Is Your Hose Leaking From?

The most important thing to determine is where the leak on your hose is actually coming from. This shouldn't be too difficult to do, but depending on the location will determine the severity of the problem and how much effort it will take to fix it.

fittings-problem

If your hose always leaks from around the connection to the water tap, you may have either a problem with the spigot itself or the hose fitting. To rule out an issue with the faucet, unscrew your hose and turn the water on.

leak-faucet

If water wells up around the handle, your packing washer may be worn out, or the packing nut may need to be tightened. This is an issue separate from the hose and is fairly harmless and will not affect your water flow too much. If it is really bad there are ways to correct this with very little effort.

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But if water only leaks when your hose is secured to the faucet, then you need to see if the water is welling up around the actual connection, or from below the fitting.

Furthermore, check the connections to hose nozzles if you use them to see if you have leaking at those fittings, as well as along the hose itself.

Leaking From the Faucet

If you have a leaky faucet it is most likely an easy enough fix and stems from the packing nut. First, locate the packing nut and loosen the handle completely before using a wrench to tighten the nut up. If that doesn't work, loosen it up and wrap about eight inches of Teflon tape or valve packing around it to help seal it and create a secure connection once you tighten it back up. You can also remove the entire hose bib by loosening the nut and replacing the washer if this doesn't work, but generally, these don't go bad as easily and the above will work just fine.

Want to see this in action? Watch below!

gasket

Leaking From the Fittings

If your hose is leaking from either of the fitting ends, you most likely have a bad gasket (or rubber washer) that is really easy to replace. In some cases, you may even be missing the gasket. Over time they can warp and fall out without you even noticing, so check to see if one is present. If not, get one!

To remove an existing gasket, just use a flat head screwdriver to pop it out and then place a new one in, pushing it down until it's secure. A secure gasket should not be able to drop out on its own. If it does, you need to check the sizing of the replacement you bought, or push it in more securely. The screwdriver can come in handy for this as well.

*You might also like: How to Winterize Your Sprinkler System

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Leaking From the Hose End

Hose ends under the fittings can often warp and break from temperature fluctuations, water that freezes within the hose, or from continual flexing near and around the connections. Just because your hose is damaged enough to leak water, doesn't mean you need to invest in a new hose (occasionally an expensive purchase).

To fix this problem, cut off the end of the hose under the fitting and get yourself a hose fitting repair kit to replace the ends. Since these only cost a small fraction of a hose replacement, you will practically get a new hose for free. Check out how easy this is to do below:

hose menders

Leaking From the Hose

If you have a hose leaking from a crack or pinhole, don't despair. These are very easy to mend as long as it doesn't span the length of the hose or you have multiple leaky sites, in which it might be easier to purchase a new hose. If you have a leak or two, simply purchase a set of hose menders and piece together your hose after cutting it apart!

There are a few different mender kits on the market, so be sure to get the correct size. A helpful hint to save you from having to return a product and another trip to the hardware store: Take a cut-out piece of the hose with you to the store to check the fit.

To see how this works, watch below!

How Will You Fix Your Hose?

Remember, a leaky hose shouldn't have you rushing out to buy a new one! Once you've located your problem, you should easily, and inexpensively be able to fix any faucet, fitting end, or hose leak with ease and a quick trip to the hardware store.

Hopefully, this article helped to solve your leaky hose (or otherwise) problem, and you are well on your way to watering bliss.

Helpful? Or have any hints you'd like to share to help keep us all leak-free? Comment or question below!