How can I reuse or recycle … old garden hose?

Garden hoseSince the weather has got rather autumnal and wet of late, we decided to pack away the garden stuff for the winter.

While hosing the dirt off pots, and packing away the hose itself, I noticed the hose had sprung a leak at a rather inconvenient position in its length.

We’ve got more hose to use in the cellar (as we had to buy it in a stupidly long length to start) but are there any alternatives? The split is about 2inches long, but just a split not a full on hole, so I don’t know whether a puncture repair kit would fix it. If it doesn’t, any suggestions on what we can do with the short lengths on either side of the split? Or the whole broken hose in general?

(Photo by Onatos)

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13 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle … old garden hose?”


  1. Jill says:

    We had the same problem early this summer. Our hose sprung a leak but my husband was able to fix it easily and cheaply.
    He bought a hose-pipe connector at Wilkinsons for less than £1, cut out the few inches of pipe where it was split, and then rejoined the two pieces of hose using the connector. It has worked perfectly well ever since.
    Jill

  2. dancing girl says:

    Yes, great idea Jill, I have used this idea and it does work. We used a good quality brass fitting for extra durability. I have found the plastic types are not quite as tough when you are regularly rolling the hose up. You can custom make the length of your hose to the exact size of your yard.

  3. Joan says:

    If it is beyonhd repair you could puncture it with small holes along its length , block the end and attach to a water butt ( or tap) to allow for trickle wateroing your garden.

  4. Blambo says:

    You can use it like rope to tie things, swing from things, etc.

  5. Jason says:

    If you have an earwig problem in your area you can use old garden hose to trap them. Cut the hose into pieces about 4 inches and then place in cool shaded places in your garden (or along the edges of your house). The earwigs love the cool, dark, narrow space provided by the hose and all you have to do to kill them is to pick up the hose and submerge it in a bucket of water.

  6. renee says:

    we’re in sever water restrictions here in Brisbane so our hoses where just getting old and stiff. I’d seen some wicker work garden edging done and decided to make my own with the hose and a few stakes. It works and looks great. A friend of mine wove hers into a heave duty laundry basket.

  7. Vicky Carlson says:

    You could cut them up and use them for sturdy handles for homemade baskets or paper mache’

  8. claire says:

    i’m from texas-what is an earwig? You can slip sections of hose over the chains on children’s swings-keeps their little fingers from getting pinched.

  9. Deb says:

    You can use different lengths to protect trees that need to be tied and staked. Rope, wire, etc. cuts into the trunks, but if you thread them through a piece of the hose the damage is minimized.
    Also if you have kitchen utensils,or hand tools that have metal handles, you can use small pieces of hose over the handles to keep hands from blistering.

  10. Bad Monkey says:

    Use some old rope threaded thru a few off cuts and tie rope ends together, makes great dog toy/pull

  11. Bad Monkey says:

    Cut a length and use it to cover teeth of saw or other sharp garden implements, cut it along the length carefully and slide it along the cutting edge.

  12. ray smith says:

    A short length of plastic hose, about four inchs, hold the end and firmly stroke across a rotating sanding disc or belt and it will clean off a lot of fouling.
    MIND your fingers and eyes.



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