Wednesday, June 24, 2020

DIY and comic relief

I noticed yesterday, when I turned on the hose to water the patio, that the
hose had sprung a leak, and was ready for more. It's about 40 years old, so not surprising. So i thought briefly about investing in a new one. Then I thought no, this is a chance to experiment with it.


I figured I could turn it into a sprinkler by stabbing it here and there with a utility knife. But first I would lay it out so as to decide where to stab. So far so good. A strenuous few minutes ensued while I wrestled the hose off the deck and through the plants. I found it wasn't as long as I thought, wouldn't reach all the way.


Nothing daunted, I hauled it around, stabbed here and there, turned on the faucet and got a refreshing shower. So did the deck and the chairs. Several adjustments later most of the sprinkling went on the plants.



I think this will also be fun for birds, too.

I'm thinking of a different watering system for the ficus which is out of range, after all my attempts. That's a diy for another day.

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. After I wrote this, I remembered I had another hose, so I screwed the two together, did more stabbing, and now have a length that easily gets around, including a special loop for the ficus.

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  2. Replies
    1. The hoses are hard to haul around, get all curled up as soon as look at you, I've been irritated with them for years. Now aside from pushing them a bit, I don't plan on lifting them again. I like this outcome.

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  3. Forty years is quite a feat. Hoses are not meant to last that long any more and you aren’t finished with it yet. Well done.

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    1. I think that long ago people didn't replace them quickly. These are heavy, lined rubber over canvas fabric, metal handles. No plastic. But I do think I got our money's worth!

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  4. I'd say you got your money's worth, too! I think it's kind of refreshing to see the water spraying in the air. Nice backyard feature!

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    1. Yiu should have seen the rainbows while I was struggling with the directions of the spray. Very pretty, seen through dripping hair!

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  5. I love it, what a great idea!

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  6. nice re-use! I have an old hose that isn't leaking but the outer covering has cracked in three places and it bulges. might have to try that.

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  7. Well your hose obviously did double duty - watered the plants and gave you a shower at the same time. Rather a win/win. Good rescue for a hose that most people would just toss in the landfill.

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    Replies
    1. It was a steaming hot day, so the shower was welcome, if surprising.

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  8. Oh, very good. How did you plug up the water end?

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    1. I just left the handle in place. Unless it's squeezed it stays shut. I did rest it in the ficus pot in case it leaked. Waste not want not.

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