Hose Surgery a Rousing Success

I love talking to my dad. All I have to do is casually mention some problem going on around the house (or really any subject) and he has some insight, advice or information that I can put to good use. For instance, I recently told him that we needed a new hose because the end that attaches to the spigot had gotten run over and I couldn't unbend it.

He informed me that they sell replacements – all you have to do is cut off the old one and attach the new one, called an end fitting. Who knew? I went to Lowe's and sure enough, there were several to choose from, ranging in price from about $1.40 to almost $5. I believe the one I picked up was in the neighborhood of $3. Didn't want to completely cheap out but didn't want to spend so much that I may as well just buy a new hose.

After several weeks (possibly months) after buying the darned thing, I finally got the inspiration I needed to actually put it on yesterday when my two-year-old son, Ian, dropped a quart of paint on our living room rug. Right or wrong, I thought it was a good idea to try to hose it off. That is fodder for another post, another day.

Anyway, I was a little nervous about putting it on because it didn't really come with any instructions and my dad sent me an email last week saying he'd forgotten what a pain it was to do the old switcheroo – apparently, he mowed over his hose for not the first time. I wasn't even sure what I was going to cut the old one off with until I remembered I got Rick a nice utility knife for Christmas. It worked like a charm and really, the whole process went off without much of a hitch.

I had to tighten it up a bit after my first attachment revealed quite a leak, but a few more turns of the screws and voilá! It's like a whole new hose – and it's one less piece of rubber in the old landfill. So I feel good twice for this little home improvement accomplishment.