Garden Hose Reels - So Many Advantages

If you have developed the habit of just dropping your garden hose on the ground where you last used it, then you must have discovered something: Garden hoses tend to get tangled, dirty and look bad when they are left on the ground. You may even have tripped over it once or twice. Why not change that? Anything you value should be properly cared for - including garden hoses - and the best way to care for them, is to make sure they are all coiled up after use. What better way to do that, but with a reel?

Garden hose reels are available in many variations today - a far cry from the car rim bolted to the garage wall I knew in my childhood! Modern wall mounted garden hose reels are the successor to that, but now they have cranks and real bearings, and run smoothly. They are also a lot smoother on the eyes as well, as can be seen in many tasteful designs. Wall mount is a good solution if you don't have miles of hose, but more like up to a hundred feet and a small garden.

If you want your hose stowed away completely, or you need the reel to be mobile, then get a garden hose reel cart. These offer full portability and  all the features also found on the wall mounts. You can get them with manual crank or different types of automatic retractable hose - driven by a springloaded mechanism, by a motor, or even by water pressure! One advantage of hose reel carts is especially apparent if you have a faucet installed somewhere in your garden which is far from your house. Then you can simply wheel the cart out to that faucet when you need to water that part of your garden. When you are done, wheel it back into the garage or shed.

How about build quality and materials then? Well, hose reels and carts come mostly in plastic or metal. A steel garden hose reel is a good idea if you want something that approaches professional quality, while plastic is fine for normal use, and often a little lighter in weight. Steel reels and carts are often found with a certain classic look to them, whereas plastic usually means more contemporary or even futuristic designs. Either material is good and durable, depending on your use of it. Plastic reels can hold up fine for years, but steel may last for decades.