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How to use an expandable garden hose, then drain it

Updated: 22 October 2026

The hose looked long enough with the gun closed, then crept back towards the tap as soon as you watered the beans. Learning how to use an expandable garden hose is mostly about letting pressure do the stretching, then getting the water out before a frost. It does not rank the listings. The [flexible garden hose 15 m comparison](/hub/garden-watering/flexible-garden-hose-15m) does that. Peter F. used those amazon.co.uk listings plus Which?, DIY Gardening, a Coopers of Stortford instruction sheet, and Nature is Calling's UK storage guide. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The hose looked long enough with the gun closed, then crept back towards the tap as soon as you watered the beans.

Our top picks

Yofidra Yofidra 50 ft / 15 m

Best overall

Yofidra Yofidra 50 ft / 15 m
8.3/10about £15.98
View offer
Flexi Hose Flexi Hose 50 ft, black/blue

Rank 2

Flexi Hose Flexi Hose 50 ft, black/blue
8.2/10about £19.99
View offer
HmiL-U HmiL-U 50 ft / 15 m

Alternative

HmiL-U HmiL-U 50 ft / 15 m
7.2/10about £25.66
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Connect it without stretching it empty
  2. 2.Why the hose shrinks when you spray
  3. 3.Drain and store it for a UK winter
  4. 4.When to stop using it

Connect it without stretching it empty

Unravel the hose before you join it to the tap. Keep the gun closed and open the outside tap part way. Let the inner tube fill and push the jacket out. Walk the hose only to take out twists, and leave it slack until it has grown. Pulling an empty hose out to the stated 15 m loads the core before pressure supports it. Check the washer on that first fill. A weep at the wall looks like a short hose, because you never build the pressure that holds the length. Which fitting you should have bought is on the 15 m garden hose buying guide. Whether the tap may be used at all is on the hosepipe ban page.

Why the hose shrinks when you spray

The hose stays long while pressure is trapped in the tube. Open the trigger and some of that pressure becomes flow, so the jacket contracts. With the gun shut, the hose lies across a 12 m run. A wide jet and the last two metres slide back, so the rose you wanted is out of reach. A sprinkler needs continuous flow, so the hose can sit shorter than the closed-gun length the whole time it runs. A pressure-washer lance outlet is the wrong place for this type of hose. If the closed-gun length is still far short of 15 m, compare the title with the bullet: HmiL-U is titled 50 ft and includes a 10 ft to 30 ft example.
Yofidra Yofidra 50 ft / 15 m

Testsieger

Yofidra Yofidra 50 ft / 15 m
8.3/10about £15.98
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Drain and store it for a UK winter

Turn the tap off, open the gun, and walk the hose so the water runs to the nozzle. Lift loops rather than leaving them as puddles. Leave the gun open while the jacket dries, then put it away. Store it loose, dry, and frost-free indoors. Nature is Calling's UK guide says not to reel an expanding hose tight. A shed that freezes is a poor substitute for a cupboard in the house. HmiL-U prints a -20°C line. That is the seller's claim, not a storage target.

When to stop using it

Stop when you can see a split, a burst, or a hole that weeps under pressure. Replace a split hose rather than tape the jacket for another season. Stop as well if the open end sits in a bucket, a butt, or a pond. WaterSafe's backflow advice is to keep the end out of standing water. Lifting the gun is your job. Fitting an indoor double check valve on the pipe to the outside tap is a plumber's job if the valve is missing. If a temporary use ban is in force, careful technique does not make the tap legal.

Common questions

Why is the hose shorter once you pull the trigger?
Opening the trigger turns trapped pressure into flow, and the jacket contracts. DIY Gardening notes that the length holds when the flow is controlled and falls when the end is open. A wide jet or a sprinkler shows this more than a soft setting. The hose has not necessarily punctured. Look for a wet patch along the tube if the shortening is sudden and local, rather than a general creep back to the tap.
Should you stretch it before the water is on?
Lay it out slack, connect it, and let the water expand it with the gun closed. Coopers of Stortford's instructions say to fill gently and not to stretch the hose empty. Pulling a dry 15 m hose out to the title length loads the inner tube before pressure supports it. An HmiL-U review describes a burst when pressure was raised to force expansion. Take twists out by hand. Leave the stretching to the tap.
How do you drain a 15 m expanding hose?
Turn the tap off, open the nozzle, and walk the hose so the water runs out of the gun. Lift loops rather than leaving low puddles on the path. Leave the nozzle open while the jacket dries, then coil the hose loose. Flexi Hose reviewers mention draining before folding, and Coopers tells you to drain with the nozzle. A hose put away still full holds that water until the next use.
Can you leave it on a reel in the shed?
A tight reel is a poor store, and a shed that freezes is a poor store as well. Nature is Calling says to keep these hoses drained, dry, and loose, somewhere frost-free indoors. Which? says even a short freeze can be a problem, and that overstretching, dragging, and freezing are how they split. A cupboard in the house is the safer place. Use the shed only if you already know it stays above freezing.
What temperature is a problem in a UK winter?
Which? treats even a short freeze as a problem for an expandable hose. That is the caution to follow. HmiL-U's listing prints -20°C, and that figure is the seller's claim, not a limit measured for this comparison. We are not adding a degree threshold the sources do not share. Drain the hose, dry it, and keep it in a frost-free part of the house before the first cold night.
The hose will not reach 15 m. What should you check first?
Close the gun, make sure the tap joint is not weeping, and open the tap so the tube can fill. These hoses approach the stated length under pressure, then shorten when you spray. Compare the title with any bullet example. HmiL-U's page is titled 50 ft and includes a 10 ft to 30 ft example, and one review measured about 15 to 18 ft. If the closed-gun length is still far short, the listing and the hose disagree.

Related pages

Expandable hose or a standard hosepipe

Flexible garden hose 15m

Best 15m expandable garden hose: Flexi Hose or Yofidra

15m garden hose buying guide: length and UK fittings

Hosepipe ban garden hose: check your water company

Sources

Public UK sources for hosepipe bans, backflow, tap threads, hose care and expandable hoses on pressure washers. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 21 October 2026. This is not a lab test.

  1. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. Water Regs UK — hose union taps (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. WaterSafe — hosepipe backflow (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. Thames Water — temporary hosepipe ban (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. Ofwat — hosepipe bans (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Hozelock — 3/4 and 1/2 outdoor tap connector (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. BBC Gardeners' World — garden hoses (retrieved 21.10.2026)