I don’t think Matt and I ever bought a garden hose. We received hand-me-downs from our Dads. We found a few that past owners left behind. I even pulled one out of the field where it had been buried in the grass for a few years.

Unsurprisingly, none of our hoses are in great shape. But despite the kinked rubber and the bent fittings, our hoses don’t leak.

There is one thing that we have bought that helps to prevent leaks–teflon tape. I keep a roll in the driveshed, along with an adjustable wrench, so that they’re handy every time I’m hooking up a hose or a nozzle.

Teflon tape, also known as plumbers’ tape, is a thin, white, non-sticky tape. Wind a couple of inches around the threads of a hose–or any plumbing connection–and it helps to make a tight joint that won’t leak.

The teflon acts as a lubricant, so that the two pieces of the connection can be screwed together more tightly–this is where the wrench is also helpful. After you finger-tighten the connection, turn it the rest of the way with your wrench.

A consideration with using teflon tape is to wrap it so that when you screw on your hose (or nozzle or whatever you’re connecting) you wrap the tape further around the threads, as opposed to unwinding it.

You only need enough tape to wrap 2 or 3 layers over the hose, so don’t rip a huge long piece.

Our roll of tape lives in the driveshed, even staying there through the winter. The cold doesn’t seem to affect the tape, and we get a few years out of a roll.

Do you have any gardening tips to share? What gardening hand-me-downs do you use at your house?