10 Uses For A Garden Hose

Use it to:

1. Buffer bark. TOH landscape contractor Roger Cook slips hose scraps over wire he uses to stabilize young trees. No chafing.

2. Catch earwigs. They hide where it's cramped and dark during the day, so University of California master gardener Sue McDavid leaves 6-inch hose segments lying around her garden—makeshift traps she shakes free of earwigs later, drowning them in soapy water.

3. Gird the garage. Until junior drivers master backing in, screwing lengths of hose at car-bumper level to corners of the garage door frame beats repairing dented trim.

4. Simulate a soaker. Crimp the open end and drill a few holes.

5. Level off. Avid DIYer and host of TV's Garden Sense Walter Reeves converted his into a giant water level to establish an even grade for his patio. He attached 3-foot segments of clear vinyl tubing to each end and filled it with colored water to make the level easy to read. Genius.

6. Belt tools. Screwing opposite ends of a 2-foot halved segment to a wall, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva makes a sort of tool hanger that hugs the handles.

7. Sheathe blades. Tom Silva also slit a length to cover the teeth of his handsaw.

8. Grip buckets. A piece slipped over a wire handle provides a better grip.

9. Swing safely. Encase swing-set chains in hose segments to protect tiny fingers.

10. Extend a faucet. TOH contributor Jeanne Huber linked hoses to relocate an outdoor spigot to a convenient location. She buried the extension 4 inches deep.

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