Water Hose Storage Ideas That Stop the Kinking and Rot

A hose rarely wears out from being used. It dies from UV, from kinking, and from freezing with water inside it — and all three are storage problems.

What actually destroys a hose

The options, cheapest first

A wall hanger — the default

• Broad, curved shoulder. A thin bracket creases the hose at the same point every time
• Mount it on a wall that is shaded for most of the day, or inside a shed or garage
• Height so the hose clears the ground when hung, with the end not sitting in a puddle
• Fix into masonry properly. A full hose is heavy, and a loaded hanger pulling out of render takes the render with it

A hose pot

A galvanised bucket, a large planter, or a purpose-made pot.

• No sharp rim. Check the lip before using a metal bucket
• Drill drainage holes in the base, or it fills with rain and the hose sits in water
• Shade it. A pot in full sun is a slow oven

A reel

• Wall-mounted for a fixed tap, cart only if the tap moves or the garden is long
• Earns its cost above about 50 feet, where hand-coiling becomes a job
• Retractable reels are the most convenient and have the most to go wrong — the spring and the swivel seal are the usual failures
• Check the leader hose at the tap is included and long enough

Under-deck and side-return storage

• A bracket under the deck joists keeps the hose shaded, off the ground and out of sight
• A storage bench with a hole drilled through the back for the leader
• A tall narrow cupboard in the side return, which also takes the sprinkler and the fittings that otherwise get lost

Coiling it so it does not fight you

• Wide loops, roughly the diameter of the hanger or your forearm span
• Let it twist as it wants. A hose coiled against its natural lay stores a twist that becomes a kink next time
• Figure-of-eight coils for a long hose on the ground, which cancels the twist
• Drain the pressure before coiling — squeeze the trigger on the nozzle once the tap is off
• Do not hang a full hose on a light hook. Water is heavy

Winter

1. Turn off the tap and disconnect the hose
2. Walk it out straight, downhill if there is a slope, or drape it over a rail so the water runs out
3. Lift one end and feed it through your hands to push the last of it out
4. Coil loosely and store somewhere that does not freeze — shed, garage, under cover
5. Deal with the tap too. Shut off and drain the supply to an outside tap that is not frost-proof, and leave the outlet open
6. Remove and store the nozzle and connectors separately. Water trapped in a brass nozzle splits it

A hose coiled with water in it and left outside is the most common way to lose one over winter, and it often takes the tap with it.

What to avoid

• Hanging it on a nail. Point load, permanent crease, eventual split
• Storing it on hot paving in full sun
• Coiling it tight around the hanger rather than in loose loops
• Leaving the nozzle on with pressure trapped in the line
• A cart on a garden with steps, which is how most hose carts end up unused behind the shed