Use This Clever Pool Noodle Hack To Prevent Kinks In Your Garden Hose

If you want to make sure your garden hose is always kink-free, you could purchase a retractable one, which will cost about $130 on Amazon. However, maybe you don't have the budget for something so pricey, or perhaps you already have a less expensive hose that you still want to use. If so, there's a cheap hack you could try, which involves a pool noodle and a couple zip ties, which can both be bought for less than $7 at Walmart and Amazon, respectively. Or, instead of a pool noodle, you could use black foam pipe insulation, which can be found at hardware stores like Home Depot for about $3. 

To complete this hack, simply cut the pool noodle to about a foot or two in length, then slice an opening in the side. Next, fit it over your hose, which may require some force, and push it all the way to the top, near the valve. To secure it, attach two zip ties at the top and bottom of the noodle. This trick will always keep this portion of the hose perfectly straight so that it never kinks again. 

The TikTok video which demonstrates how to complete this hack, has received some mixed reviews. One person writes in the comments, "Why would the hose kink on the end? Never happened to me before." However, another commenter replied, "Maybe you have a more expensive hose, [kink-free]. On average the general population isn't spending possibly more than $10 to $15, so it works!" Keep in mind that the quality of your hose may make this trick more or less useful for you. 

Others, on the other hand, found this to be extremely useful, saying things like, "valuable information," "genius," and "great idea." Another person likes the tip but suggests an easier way to attach the pool noodle. They write, "Unscrew the hose then put on pool noodle then reattach the hose... no need to slice noodle or [use] zip ties ... but good idea." 

If you find that kinks typically happen further down your hose and not up near the valve, you'll need to utilize another method of prevention. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to keep your garden hose from bending and splitting open. Typically, kinks occur because the hose is rolled up or bent. To prevent this, you could keep your hose straight at all times, perhaps by laying it out against the side of your garden, landscaping, or driveway.

However, others may want to neatly store their hose away after every use, in which case they could use a wall-mounted bracket and make the loops as large as possible. Another option is to purchase a manual hose reel with a crank, but this will be a bit more expensive. You could also invest in a higher quality hose, as those with a thicker exterior are less likely to kink up, such as the Gilmour Flexogen Heavy Duty Garden Hose that's sold at Walmart.