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| 1. |
Each fall, or at the end of the
growing season, remove the hoses from your beds and brush off as much soil
and debris from the hoses as possible. Inspect for any obvious breaks,
tears and/or deterioration. |
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| 2. |
Find a container large enough to
completely immerse the entire hose, remove any fittings, valves, caps,
etc. That are attached to the hose and start coiling the hose into the
tub. A kids wading pool works the best for this task if you have one but
any large "tank" that you have handy will work. |
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| 3. |
Place all of the removable
hardware into a container to be cleaned later. |
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| 4. |
As you are coiling the hose into
the pool, uncouple any hoses that are still coupled together so they are
single units. |
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| 5. |
After the hoses are in the tub or
pool, add approximately three or four tablespoons of dish washing
detergent. Avoid harsh, chlorinated or ammoniated cleaners. These will
deteriorate the rubber. |
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| 6. |
Add enough water to cover the
hoses. Kids love to help with this. You will need to weigh down the hoses
because they float. Let the hoses soak for two to three hours to
thoroughly loosen the embedded soil that will have seeped into the rubber
pores. |
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| 7. |
After soaking, thoroughly clean
both ends of the hoses with a stiff brush. This prolongs the life of
threads and swivel connections. Remove the hose seals for cleaning
separately. |
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| 8. |
Connect the hose to a water
source and flush the inside for two or three minutes to remove any bugs,
dirt and debris from the inside of hose. |
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| 9. |
After flushing the inside of the
hose, close off the opposite end of hose and turn the water back on to
force water from the inside out. I find a simple hose valve works well for
this, but a hose cap will also work. Allow the water to flow through the
hose pores for five to ten minutes to clean debris from the pores of the
hose. |
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| 10. |
With the water still running,
thoroughly scrub the outside of the hose with a stiff brush to remove any
remaining soil. The running water will flush away soils while you scrub. |
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| 11. |
As you are cleaning, note and
mark any punctures or other repairs that need to be made. A piece of
"twist-tie" wire works well for these areas. Repairing soaker hose defects
can be done later. |
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| 12. |
After cleaning and marking
defects to repair, stretch the hoses out to drain and air dry. Remember to
remove any valves, caps, etc. You previously installed for cleaning the
hoses. |
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| 13. |
After the hoses are dry, coil up
and tie the hoses so they are ready for the next use. If your hoses are
not going to be reinstalled immediately, store them inside away from
sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun will deteriorate the rubber. |
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| 14. |
As you coil the hoses, reinstall
or replace the hose seal and couple the ends together. This will keep
dirt, spiders, dirt-daubers and other bugs out of you clean hose. If for
some reason you can not couple the ends together, you can still cover the
ends by placing tape over the open ends. |
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| 15. |
This is the time to make any
repairs needed to the hose. If the hose is cut, it will need to be cut in
two and the damaged area cut out. A "coupling" is used to connect the two
pieces back together. |
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| 16. |
Either reinstall your soaker
irrigation hoses or store them inside away sunlight to limit deterioration
of the rubber. |
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