Gilmour Soaker Hose Reviews 2024

One of my biggest challenges in the garden is to keep my plots moist during the hot summer months. Watering my vegetables everyday using a regular rubber hose was a constant struggle. I tried a sprinkling system, but because my garden isn’t that big, it wasted a lot of water going to the sidewalks and the edges instead of my veggies. Then I’ve read about this flat soaker hose on the internet and decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did because now, my garden is sufficiently watered, my plots are always moist, and my veggies are healthier. They haven’t withered and quickly survived the summer season. What a steal!

Things to Consider Before Buying a Soaker Hose

Garden size vs. hose length

Measure the proportion of your garden or lawn first. If you plan to lay your soaker hose straight, choose the length that’s closest to the size of your garden. If you are going to snake it thru your plants, or bend it along your plots, add a few feet in length for allowance.

Warranty

Any type of guarantee a product has (money back guarantee, 30 day warranty, lifetime warranty, etc.) says a lot about the confidence of the company on their item. Think twice about buying a product that doesn’t offer any guarantee.

Durability

If you are interested in buying a particular item, do quick research on it first. Don’t go to the company’s website as they will only highlight their features. Read thru reviews, comments, and articles; more people now are quick to say their sentiments on products that they buy online.

Budget

It is best practice to put a spending threshold on any product that you are planning to buy, whether it’s online or thru a physical store. You don’t want to be a victim of sales pitches offering discounted additional accessories you won’t be using, right?

Gilmour Soaker Hose

The Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose is one of the many significant innovations of the Nelson and Gilmour Company founded in 1950. The flat design of the Gilmour Soaker Hose sets itself apart from rounded soaker hoses that are prone to breakage. The outer fabric lining of the hose also protects the inner vynil from the harmful effects of too much sun on the material. Its micro holes enable gentler watering targeting the roots of plants. And because it’s a targeted watering, no water is wasted in the process. Attach it to a timer and you can forget about watering all season!

Dimensions and Specs

Features and Benefits

Three sizes to choose from

Use the lawn calculator found on their website to get an accurate measurement of your space thru Google Maps. If you already know the size of your garden, then you can choose from 25ft, 50ft, or 75ft on their official website or Amazon.

Lightweight and convenient

The most extended size, which is 75 feet, only weighs 2 pounds, making it an easy task even for first-timers to lay it out on the garden and thru your plants. It’s flat design makes storing also a breeze compared to heavy, rounded rubber soaker hoses that requires a tremendous amount of strenght to recoil.

Kink, leak, and clog-resistant

Unlike the conventional round rubber hoses, it is impossible to have a kink on a flat soaker hose like Gilmour. Its inner hose is environmentally friendly because it’s made up of 100% recycled vinyl. The clog resistant outer fabric protects the inner hose from damages and cracks caused by too much sun exposure.

Set it and forget it!

Lay it out once and you will never have to worry about your plants getting enough water ever. All you have to do is turn your tap on and let it work its magic! Install a hose timer to it and forget about watering your plants all season!

Warranty

I’ve already mentioned how a company’s confidence is reflected in the guarantee it offers. That’s one thing that I really admire with Gilmour. They are dedicated in making quality products, making them one of the top US brands for yard and garden care. But not only that, they are also committed in providing excellent after sales service. Your Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose comes with not a one year warranty, not even two years, but seven years! (Yes, you read that right! 7 years!) Amazing right?

Inexpensive

With these different unique traits, one would think that the Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose must be pretty expensive. On the other hand, it is the cheapest compared to other soaker hose brands in the market! What more can you ask for?

Tips for Using the Gilmour Soaker Hose

Use a tap running 60 PSI

If you are not familiar with the amount of pressure on your outdoor tap, lay your hose around your garden first and slowly turn on your faucet. As the water flows through the entire hose, gradually increase the flow through the hose until you see water weeping through its tiny holes. Remember to use that same amount of pressure everytime you turn on the tap. Turning the tap on high pressure the first time might result in early breakage if the pressure is too high.

Avoid sharp bends

When snaking the hose around your plot, make sure that your bends are large, rounded, and up to 12 inches apart. Small sharp bends won’t kink the hose but they might block sufficient waterflow from seeping through holes, making for an uneven watering system.

100 feet maximum length

If ever the 75-foot hose isn’t enough to cover your whole garden, you can purchase 2 soaker hoses and connect them together. Just bear in mind that the Gilmour Soaker Hose recommends a limit of 100 feet maximum length to be effective and ensure an even amount of water weeping through its entire length.

Over vs under

You can lay your soaker hose just above the earth, or you can put it under mulch if you want to conceal it. Putting it under mulch protects it further from the sun’s scorching heat that might cause premature damages to the inner vynil. It is not advisable to bury the hose under the soil because it could block the weeping process.

Gilmour Soaker Hose Reviews

Tons of products post false commendations and empty promises and are only great on their ads. I rummaged the internet and looked for actual people who bought and used the Gilmour Flat Soaker Hose. Most of them are geniunely satisfied with the product. Below are a few screenshots of happy customers from Walmart and Amazon.

Alternatives

Melnor Flat Soaker Hose

Just like the Gilmour Soaker Hose, The Melnor soaker hose ranks high on the list of highest sales and customer satisfaction when it comes to soaker hoses.

Rocky Mountain Goods Flat Soaker Hose

Rocky Mountain Goods started out as a tree farm. Now they are a reliable company for farm, garden, ranch and other outdoor products and tools. They offer both round and flat soaker hoses in different sizes.

One Stop Gardens Flat Seeper Soaker Hose

The One Stop Gardens soaker hose lets you regulate the waterflow up to 70% by using miser discs. Its material is extra durable, heavy-duty nylon.

Conclusion

Gardening nowadays isn’t just a hobby or a thing that you do to pass the time. Growing your own food is one of the lessons this pandemic has taught us – to be self sufficient, be mindful of our decisions and give back to Mother Nature. Thanks to innovative products, we, self-proclaimed backyard farmers and gardeners, can work with ease in our own little pieces of land.