How do I fix a garden hose leak?

Every female hose end has a flat rubber or synthetic ring inside the coupling. The ring, not the threads, makes the seal against the spigot or nozzle. Replacement gaskets are sold by size and thread type: Kuriyama's catalog lists a 3/4 inch garden hose gasket with GHT (garden hose thread). When it dries out, flattens or falls out, water squirts out around the threads.

City of Phoenix Water Services lists this as part of outdoor leak checks: "In Arizona's extreme climate, inspect your garden hose for leaks and change washers often." It adds that "Properly installed, washers can prevent hoses from leaking where they attach to faucets and spray nozzles."

1. 1Shut off the water at the faucet and unscrew the hose.
2. 2Look inside the female end. Pry out the old ring with a small screwdriver or pick.
3. 3Press in a new washer of the same size so it sits flat in the bottom of the coupling.
4. 4Screw the hose on hand-tight, then turn on the water slowly.

If a new washer still leaks, look at the coupling and the male threads. A bent or cracked metal or plastic end will not seat. Replace the end with a new one that clamps onto the hose, or replace the hose. Tape on the threads is not the fix; the washer is what seals.

For a pinhole or a split, cut out the damaged section with a sharp knife or hose cutter, square the ends and join the two pieces with a mender, a hose coupling that clamps over each cut end. Menders are sized to hose diameter, so match the hose. A kinked spot that has split near the end is easiest: cut it off and fit a new male or female end. A hose with several leaks, a bulge or a hard, cracked jacket is nearing the end of its life, and patching it just moves the leak.

Sun and heat age a hose faster than most people expect. Oregon State University Extension says that temperature swings "will cause the hose material to age at a faster rate and the hose will not last more than a few seasons, even if it is completely drained." That is from an Oregon source on hoses stored outside, so read it as direction rather than a Phoenix number; in a Phoenix summer, a hose lying across a hot patio is a likely candidate for early failure. Draining and coiling a hose in shade between uses is the cheapest way to get more seasons out of it. Hose water can also get very hot when it sits in the sun, which is covered in how hot water in outdoor hoses and pipes gets in Phoenix summers.

Sometimes the hose is fine. Check these before you buy a new one:

• Drip from the spout with the hose off. That is the faucet's washer or seat. See why an outdoor faucet or hose bib leaks.
• Water at the handle. Worn packing, covered on the same page.
• Spit or spray from the top of the bib while the water runs. A worn vacuum breaker. How a hose bib vacuum breaker works explains it. A small spurt when the water first turns on is normal for that part.
• Leaking where the faucet meets the wall. Water is running into the wall cavity. Shut off the water to the faucet and call a plumber.

A hose left attached traps water in the faucet, and Phoenix freezes occasionally. The Arrowhead Brass frost-proof hydrant's self-draining vacuum breaker "provides freeze protection by allowing the wall hydrant to drain upon shut off if the hose is removed." Remove, drain and store hoses before a freeze warning, as our guide to winterizing a hose spigot in Arizona lays out.

Replace it if the jacket is cracked or hardened, if there are several leaks, if the hose kinks and will not straighten, or if the hose has been repaired more than once. For a leaky faucet, a damaged bib, or a hose bib that needs replacement, how to replace an outdoor faucet covers the full swap. HQ Plumbing and Air handles hose bib repair and replacement through residential plumbing service, with a firm price before work starts.