Soaker Hose: What Is a Soaker Hose and How Does It Work?

Being a gardener as a hobby is steadily gaining in popularity among homeowners today. There’s nothing more relaxing than watching your plants grow from your care while it decorates your yard beautifully. Growing plants means ensuring they get enough sunlight and water, but watering your plants every day can start feeling like a time-consuming chore.

Many homeowners found their delight in a soaker hose, thanks to its convenience and customizable coverage. Unlike a standard hose with a wide mouth, it is built with pores for more efficient water distribution.

What Is A Soaker Hose?

Typically, households own a standard hose that has a large nozzle for watering plants. However, since the nozzle can’t control the water, it tends to drown and overwater your greens.

This is where a soaker hose comes into the picture, a more efficient hose for watering plants. It is made from rubber and polyethylene plastic (some are BPA-free if you are worried) to a porous material so the water can seep out from the entire hose. It sends moisture to the soil towards the roots; thus, you can protect the leaves of your plants. 

Installation of a soaker hose is easy to do by yourself, and after that, you can save your time and energy from doing your chore.

How Does A Soaker Hose Work?

Since the soaker hose is created from a porous material, water can seep out at a slow rate throughout the hose’s length. Just like a normal hose, you attach it to a faucet to get your water supply going.

Before using a brand-new soaker hose, make sure to flush it first. Here is an instruction for a more detailed approach of how to make a soaker hose work:

1. A newly bought soaker hose comes packaged in a tight coil, which will make the assembly hard. Unwind your brand-new house and leave it under the sun for an hour or until it’s easy to loosen up.
2. Remove the end cap and attach your soaker hose to a water source.
3. Run water for an ample amount of time. New hoses might have dust or debris left inside from the production or storage, so it’s best to flush it before using it for the plants.
4. Replace the soaker hose’s end cap.

You can then proceed with installing it for watering your plants.

5. A soaker hose can be directly connected to a spout or another garden hose, depending on how far your water source is to your plants. There are two options to choose from: directly attaching it to your spigot, or if the length is too short, you can connect it first to a garden hose then to the faucet.
6. After installation to the water supply, you can stretch out the hose and turn the water on. Be sure to adjust the pressure to produce a slow and steady drip.

How Long Should You Run A Soaker Hose?

There is no exact formula on how long a soaker hose should run. All you have to keep in mind is that the soil condition, climate, and season will all affect the duration. 

As a general tip, you should run the soaker hose for 30 minutes twice a week. Keep adjusting the duration based on your experience in finding the right technique you can use. Running a soaker hose is a trial-and-error process, so make sure to personalize it depending on your garden’s needs.

Benefits of Garden Soaker Hose

There are countless benefits of using a garden soaker hose. Evidently, it will save water from overwatering your plants, your time and energy from doing the chore, and your money as it is cheaper than other options of automatic plant watering.

• Water conservation doesn’t only drown your plants, but it also helps our environment.
• Homeowners don’t have to stay and monitor the whole process. All they have to do is turn on the faucet, and everything will be working fantastically in their garden.
• The installation is quick and easy, and there’s no need to pay an additional fee to hire anyone for the job. 
• Buying a soaker hose is a low-priced investment. An irrigation system that can be perceived as its rival is expensive. If you’re looking to make things convenient for your personal farm, then a soaker hose is the cheap but efficient option.
• It provides healthy growth for the plants.The water goes directly to the root system without touching the leaves of the plants. This will keep the leaves of the plants dry, thus eliminating the chance of fungal growth.
• A bonus for using the soaker hose is you won’t be growing unnecessary weeds in your yard.Watering the plants using a hose or sprinkler means that water can get everywhere. Since the soaker hose is installed on the soil where the plants should be, no weeds will grow out of nowhere, and it will save your time from plucking.

How Can You Use A Soaker Hose Successfully?

Get The Installation Right

• To ensure that your installation is going smoothly, check if you are placing it in the right location.
• It should fit your garden at the right length and not too long. The maximum length should be 100 feet.
• It should be in the right level on the ground and not in a vertical position. Installing it vertically will make the water drip in one direction, losing the correct purpose of a soaker hose.
• Install in the right spacing. If you have sandy soil, it’s ideal for the hose lines to have 12 to 18 inches of distance, and 18 to 24 inches for those with clay or loam soil.

Ensure That Your Water Supply Is Running Correctly

Do not turn it up too high, as these soaker hose doesn’t spray water at high pressure. The perfect speed is a slow water flow to ensure that the water is distributed in the pores evenly.

Set The Right Timing

Find your perfect timing and install a timer. It is recommended for you to connect a mechanical timer to deliver the correct amount of water for every watering session.

Tips For Using The Soaker Hose Efficiently

• A lot. – Your garden is your own space, and you know it better than any how-to article online. Make sure to customize the usage of your soaker hose depending on what your plants need.
• Watch the weather forecast. – It’s for your plants.You can’t stick to one technique in watering. Different weather calls for a different amount of water. If it’s hot, then your plants need more water. If it’s cold, give it less.
• Check your soil. – There are different types of soil. Some can be loamy, sandy, or clay-like. Having loam soil means that you have a perfect balance, so you can just stick to what you have been doing. If your soil is more on the sandy type, it can’t retain water, so make sure to water more frequently so it wouldn’t dry out. Clay-like soils can hold water, so you should only water when it’s not too water-logged.
• Keep your hose in its best shape. – Make sure it is kink-free so the water wouldn’t be blocked. You can also put a mesh water filter to avoid clogging on the hose lines. Lastly, keep it clean and protected by regularly flushing the soaker hose and covering it with mulch of two to three inches, to retain its moisture and avoid sun damage.

Final Verdict

As a homeowner, there are more things to do than watering your flowers. This can take up your time for other chores, depending on how big your green collection is.

A soaker hose will bring back your joy in growing plants. You can start appreciating the beauty of your backyard more, rather than worrying why your plant is turning yellow or brown (it’s because it’s overwatered).

If you are a plant parent too, it’s a sign to invest in a soaker hose. Your gardening can or your water hose is clearly not the best choice to grow healthy plants.