Apart from fighting a tangled garden hose, the next most annoying frustration for a gardener is dealing with a hose that's developed a kink. When a hose has kinked once it's more likely to repeat the problem over and over again until you throw your hands up in frustration, throw it away and go and buy a kink free hose.

Before you get to that point there is one solution that might just keep that budget hose hanging around your place a little longer.

The idea is to brace the kink much like you would try to do with a broken leg. If you can spare some of the current hose then cut of a length of about 10cm (4in) - preferably at one of the ends. Then, cut a slit lengthways along the shortened piece and slide it over the area that is kinked. This will then act as a splint for the hose and you should be able to keep watering without having to free your hose from that kink again.

If you can't spare a piece of your current garden hose, and there isn't an old one laying around the yard, then a piece of poly-tubing (black reticulation pipe) will also work just as effectively. And, if you find that neither solution has remedied the problem and the kink is far worse than expected, then a piece of PVC piping will solve the problem once and for all.

How to fix a tangled hose

Ok, now you're getting the benefit of 2 tips for the price of one!

At the start of this post, I mentioned how frustrating a tangled hose was for the home gardener. Well, there is a way to fix this too. But, before I do, I need to point out that the main reason a hose tangles is because it has been stored incorrectly. Leaving it laying on the ground in a piled up mess will certainly contribute to this problem. So, instead, go and get yourself a garden hose reel that will keep your hose in shape for the length of its natural life.

Once a hose has become tangled it's near-on impossible to revert it back in a way that's useful. But, the quickest way to make it malleable enough to put onto a hose reel is to leave it in the sun. Pull the complete hose out into an area where the sun is shining and leave for about an hour. When you come back the hose should be soft and pliable and much more willing to submit to your storage needs.

If sun isn't something you see a lot of, then try leaving the hose in a bath of hot water until it becomes just as pliable.

And there it is, a few ways to keep your garden hose working longer for you and with far less hassles. Do you know of any other tips that could alleviate gardener-hose-stress?