The most important first step in getting a garden set up might be to properly connect your garden hose to your outdoor spigot properly.
One thing’s for sure, carrying a bucket full of water to your garden is not easy.
For some, the chore is doable, while for others, it can be virtually impossible to do without help; a good number of gardeners are seniors, after all.
Gardening is supposed to be relaxing and not something that should start with a stressful activity, such as carrying a heavy bucket of water.
By knowing how to connect garden hose to outdoor faucets, you can save yourself all this trouble. It’ll also save you the trouble of winding up with a metal hose connector stuck to your spigot.
When you do this correctly, you can hydrate your garden and lawn, as well as rinse away all the dirt, grime, and debris from your deck conveniently and efficiently, without wasting water.
How to Install a Spigot or Faucet
The question is: Do you even have an outdoor faucet to connect your garden hose to? If you don’t, then we’ve got you covered.
Here’s how you install a new spigot or faucet.
Items Needed
Prepare the following materials:
- Hacksaw
- Bucket
- Adjustable pliers
- Anti-siphon valve
- Garden hose adapter
- Copper or PVC pipe
- PVC cement
- 120-grit dry sandpaper
- Soldering flux, propane torch, and lead-free solder
- Spigot
- Wrench
- Plumbing tape
- PVC or copper tee
Procedure
Now that you have all the items ready, here are the steps you need to follow:
Step #1: Search for Your Water Line
Locate your PVC water line (note that you could also have a copper water line, in which case it would be better to prepare a copper tee connector).
It could be located along the side of your house or in a crawlspace. For some, it could even be underground.
In any case, this is something you probably already know.
Once you’ve found it, shut the water to the pipe off and then open the faucet connected to it to reduce the pressure of the water.
Step #2: Cut the Pipe
Next, start cutting the pipe using the hacksaw.
Despite already having drained the line, expect water to still spray out of the pipe once the saw penetrates.
Use the bucket to catch the water so that the ground doesn’t get all wet and prevent water wastage.
Step #3: Smoothen the Edges
Smoothen rough edges on both sides of the pipe using the sandpaper and install a tee connector (copper or PVC) with a ½ an inch outlet.
For a PVC pipe, use PVC cement with the tee connector; otherwise, if it’s a copper pipe, solder the connector using a soldering flux, propane torch, and lead-free solder.
Step #4: Connect Everything
From the tee connector, run the pipe to the area where you need the spigot, soldering, or gluing it using the proper connectors.
Using the threaded male adapter, terminate the pipe.
Then, use a clamp to hold the adapter to a solid surface, like a house siding, or use a stake to mount the adapter on for support.
Step #5: Final Touches
Wrap plumbing tape around the adapter’s threads and screw on the spigot with a threaded female connector. You then proceed to tighten up the connection with a wrench.
Step #6: Try It Out!
All that’s left to do is to turn on the water, and you’re all done!
Pro Tips
For water pipes made of galvanized steel, you’ll want to install the tee connector by hacking the pipe and unscrewing both its ends from its fittings and replacing them with the connector, three pipe nipples, and a union.
Also, you must remember that an anti-siphon valve is just as important to install on a new faucet as it is on a regular one since both spigots are attached to your main water supply.
How to Connect Garden Hose to Outdoor Faucet
If you already have an existing outdoor faucet or just installed a new one using the above steps, here are five new steps to keep in mind on how to connect your garden hose to an outdoor faucet.
Items Needed
- Faucet adapter
- Gasket
- Bucket
Procedure
Here are the steps you need to follow to connect your garden hose or garden hose reels to your faucet successfully:
Step #1: Have the Faucet Adapter Ready
First, you’ll want to attach the hose, for which you will need a faucet adapter.
A faucet adapter is small and screws onto the outdoor faucet, converting its end into a male garden hose connector.
Step #2: Unscrew the Faucet Tip
For the next step, unscrew the tip of the faucet. Take extra care when doing this and prepare a bucket to catch any of the pieces contained within the faucet tip that may drop.
If there’s a drain nearby or directly under the faucet, then you’ll want to cover it with a rag or towel so that none of the tiny pieces fall down the drain.
Step #3: Screw on the Adapter
Then, screw on the new faucet adapter. Make sure to thread the adapter well and tight onto the faucet.
There’s no need to use a wrench or other tools to do this since your hands will usually be enough to seal it tightly.
If your plumbing system doesn’t have a vacuum breaker integrated to it, thread a hose-type vacuum breaker onto the hose before connecting it to the garden hose.
Your local hardware store should be able to provide you with this type of attachment.
A hose-type vacuum breaker keeps the siphon from developing chemicals or drawing in wastes into the water supply in case the hose gets left behind or submerged in a container that’s contaminated or filled with cleaning solutions.
Step #4: Put a Hose Gasket
Now, you want to make sure the hose gasket is properly in place and that the hose has either a vinyl or a rubber gasket fitted inside it to help prevent leaks.
The gasket should be in the hose before attaching it to the faucet; otherwise, you would deal with a really wet mess.
Step #5: Screw the Hose to the Adapter
Finally, screw the hose onto the faucet adapter. Make sure to do so tightly so that water doesn’t come leaking out at the sides.
Connect the water to see if the seal is indeed watertight.
How to Re-attach the Faucet Tip
Of course, you don’t want to leave your garden hose outside and exposed to the elements since this is a surefire way to speed up wear and tear and create leaks and tears on your hose.
Plus, you use your outside faucet for chores other than watering your garden, so you really don’t need to attach the garden hose to it all the time.
Items Needed
- Teflon Tape
- Knife or Scissors
Procedure
To remove the garden hose and re-attach the faucet tip, follow these steps:
Step #1: Remove the Hose and Adapter
Now that you’re done using the hose, remove the hose along with the faucet adapter and then proceed to screw back the faucet tip.
Make sure not to screw it on too tightly; just tight enough so that it forms a good seal.
Then, check if there are any leaks from replacing the faucet tip since it may have compromised the tightness of the original seal.
Step #2: Wrap the Threaded Area With Teflon
Make sure to add Teflon tape to the faucet to help prevent or stop leaking.
To do this, remove the faucet tip and wrap two or three turns’ worth of Teflon tape around the faucet’s threaded area in a clockwise motion.
Apply the tape tightly around the area, taking extra care not to let any excess tape hang over the area of the faucet where the water is supposed to exit as it may delay or inhibit the flow of water.
Step #3: Screw the Faucet Tip
You then need to screw the faucet tip over the section of the faucet wrapped with the Teflon tape.
In this case, even if the excess tape is visible, you don’t have to worry about it impeding the water flow.
Step #4: Trim Excess Tape
Make sure to gently trim any overhanging tape using a knife or a pair of scissors.
Don’t forget to peel away the scraps.
From here, you can work on finding out how to attach your garden hose to sprinklers, spray nozzles, coiled hoses, and pressure washers. All these attachments can help make your outdoor tasks involving water easier and more efficient.
Helpful video on connecting a garden hose to a tap
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to connect garden hoses or hose reel carts to outdoor faucets can make gardening easier and more convenient.
You can water your plants properly and not worry about wasting water in the process, as is usually the case when you have to walk some distance while carrying heavy buckets of water.
Furthermore, you no longer have to ask for help or postpone your gardening for when someone’s available to assist you.
The advantage of knowing all the steps of the procedures above is that you no longer need to pay a handyman or wait for someone to do any of these jobs for you properly.
You can instead get started on these courses of action right away and have better control of when and how you want to garden—this time we’re talking about real, relaxing gardening that makes you feel at peace!