How to Repair a Hose Leak - Tips for Beginners

I came outside to walk through the garden in the morning as I do each day, and found a little stream running down one of my garden paths. That was my first clue I had a problem.

A quick manual test of my watering system revealed this:

I had a fountain of water spraying over the fence and into the ally.

We are in a drought in California and I have written about how I try to conserve water in the garden. What a shame to see all that water wasted. This was the first time I have had a hose blow like this. I am thankful it didn't happen when we were away for a few days. At least I know it only was leaking one day.

I didn't see any other areas of the hose with a leak so I decided to repair the hose rather than replace it. Replacing it would be really hard at this point in the season because the melon vines have grown over the soaker hose.

This is an easy repair. Be sure to buy the correct size fitting as there are different sized hoses. My soaker hoses are 1/2 inch diameter. 

Here is what you need to make the repair; hose mender, screwdriver and tool to cut the hose.

The mender looks like this once the packaging is removed.

Find the hole.

Cut out the section of the hose that has the leak. Try to cut the ends squarely.

Loosen the screws and slip the green clamps over each hose end.

Push the black connector piece into the hose ends. Push it all the way in so the hose pushes up against the plastic rim.

Slide the green clamps close to the cut ends of the hose and tighten the screws. 

It is best to tighten each screw a little bit at a time so that the two pieces stay parallel to each other. By tightening each screw a few twists at a time, the pieces stay aligned to make the best seal. 

Now test your system to be sure there are no leaks.