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Garden hose kinks and leaks

Updated: 22 October 2026

Garden hose kinks and leaks are three different faults wearing one name. Water at the tap nut is a washer or a soft connector. A flat fold in a reinforced 30 m coil is a kink. A fan of pinholes along an expandable sleeve is a burst wall. Peter F. updated this page on 22 October 2026 from Which?, UK repair guides and the captured amazon.co.uk review themes. We did not bench-test a split hose. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Fitting the tap is [how to connect a garden hose to an outside tap](/hub/garden-watering/garden-hose-30m/sub/garden-hose-30m-how-to-connect). The hoses are on the [Garden hose 30m comparison](/hub/garden-watering/garden-hose-30m).

Garden hose kinks and leaks are three different faults wearing one name. Water at the tap nut is a washer or a soft connector. A flat fold in a reinforced 30 m coil is a kink.

Our top picks

Flexi Hose Flexi Hose black, 100 ft expandable

Best overall

Flexi Hose Flexi Hose black, 100 ft expandable
7.4/10about £29.99
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Faithfull Faithfull 30 m reinforced hose, 12.7 mm

Best value

Faithfull Faithfull 30 m reinforced hose, 12.7 mm
7.3/10about £20.87
View offer
Draper Draper 30 m hose and spray gun kit

Alternative

Draper Draper 30 m hose and spray gun kit
6.4/10about £23.90
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Look at where the water comes out
  2. 2.Kinks on a 30 m coil
  3. 3.Drips at the connector
  4. 4.Holes in an expandable hose

Look at where the water comes out

Stand the hose on the path with the tap on low and find the wet spot before you buy a repair kit. Water at the tap connector, with a dry tube, is the joint. Water from a sharp fold is a kink. Water from one cut, or from many small holes, is damage in the tube. A snapped spray gun in Draper reviews after a frost is the gun, not a split hose. Most 30 m coil complaints here are the kink. Faithfull's UK reviews use kink as the dominant word. CLMCL and Flexi reviews talk about holes and bursts. Greenera and Alederways draw comments about leaks at the connector that came in the box. A new washer will not open a kink, and a winding habit will not close a row of pinholes. Keep the hose end out of a bucket while you look. A submerged end can draw dirty water back toward the tap. Turn the tap off before you undo any fitting.

Kinks on a 30 m coil

A new reinforced hose kinks because it was twisted as it came off the coil, or wound with a fold already in it. The braid limits stretch. It still collapses when you turn the hose over on itself. Faithfull buyers meet this on an about £20.87, 12.7 mm coil that never included connectors, so the fold is in the hose, not in a missing fitting. Walk it out straight and let it spin the twist out before you water. Which? says to drain after use, avoid storing a kink, and keep the reel out of midday sun. Wind from the tap end toward the gun and stop if you feel a flat spot. A reel that is too small for 30 m leaves a tail, and that tail is where the next kink forms. If the same spot flattens every day, that section can be cut out. A hose that folds in a new place each time needs a calmer wind.
Flexi Hose Flexi Hose black, 100 ft expandable

Testsieger

Flexi Hose Flexi Hose black, 100 ft expandable
7.4/10about £29.99
View offer

Drips at the connector

A drip at the nut, with the hose wall dry, is the washer or the thread. Turn the tap off and look for a washer that is missing, pinched or cracked. Gardeningetc starts the same way: tighten the tap joint, replace a perished O-ring, and only then think about the tube. Faithfull ships as hose only, so a weep is often the connector you added. Greenera and Alederways have the opposite comment: the supplied connector is the part that weeps. Replace that nut and washer before you condemn the tube. A repair connector belongs on the hose, not on the tap. Masseys' note on the Hozelock 2100 says to cut the end square, and that most domestic hose is 12.5 mm. A 19 mm fitting will not grip that wall. Faithfull and Greenera are in the 12.5 mm band. Draper's components line says 12 mm. Warm a stiff end, then push it fully home.

Holes in an expandable hose

Tape is a short-term patch on a single nick in a reinforced wall. CLMCL reviews describe bursts within weeks, which is the reason to replace that hose. Flexi reviews carry the same hole pattern beside a much larger review count. Several pinholes mean the inner core has failed in more than one place. A 12.5 mm repair connector assumes one bad section in a reinforced wall, with sound hose on either side of a square cut. If you can isolate one split in a Faithfull or Draper coil, cut that piece out and join the sound ends. If the expandable sleeve weeps along its length, replace it and store the next one empty and indoors in winter. The type choice is expandable or reinforced hose. Named replacements are on the best 30m garden hose page. Faithfull is the cheaper reinforced coil and also the kink-heavy one.

Common questions

Why does a new reinforced hose kink?
It still has a twist from the way it was coiled in the packet, or it has been pulled around a corner under pressure. The polyester braid resists stretch and still allows a flat fold. Faithfull's reviews are full of this on an otherwise ordinary 12.7 mm, 30 m hose. Walk it out straight, let it untwist, and wind it empty without trapping a fold. A new hose that kinks is often a handling problem. It becomes a replacement problem when the same spot splits.
Water drips at the tap. Is the hose split?
A drip at the nut with a dry hose is a washer, an O-ring or a tired connector. Replace the washer and tighten by hand before you cut anything. On Faithfull, the connector was never in the box, so the fitting you added is the first place to look. On Greenera and Alederways, buyers report the supplied connector as the leak. The hose is split only if water leaves through the wall or at a fold away from the tap.
The expandable hose has several holes. Is a repair connector worth it?
A repair connector is worth it for one damaged section in a reinforced wall, cut square and matched to 12.5 mm, or to Draper's 12 mm components line. It is a poor buy when an expandable sleeve has pinholes along its length, because the next hole is already in the core. CLMCL's early bursts are the case for replacing the hose the same day. Flexi's larger review sample shows the same theme among the better comments.
The spray gun snapped in a frost. Is that the hose?
The gun is a separate part. Draper reviews include a spray gun that failed after frost, while the hose can still be intact. Replace the gun if the thread on the hose tail is sound and the tube holds water. A cracked plastic nut on the connector is in the same class: hardware, not wall. Replace the hose when the water is leaving through the tube, the kink has split, or the expandable core is full of holes.
When is the hose finished?
Replace it when there are several holes, when a burst has opened the wall, or when a kink has split and you cannot leave sound hose on both sides of one cut. CLMCL comments about failure within weeks are that moment. A single nick in a Faithfull or Greenera coil can still be mended with a 12.5 mm connector. A drip only at the tap is not a finished hose. A new washer is the whole job.

Related pages

30m garden hose buying guide

Garden hose 30m

Best 30m garden hose: a review sample or fixed coil

Expandable vs reinforced garden hose: a 30 m choice

Connect a garden hose to an outside tap: BSP and washer

Sources

Public UK sources for PVC garden hose, tap threads, backflow and hosepipe bans. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines on these listings. Water UK's hosepipe FAQ was updated on 12 October 2026. This is not a lab test.

  1. BSI, BS 3746:1990 — PVC garden hose (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 paragraph 15 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. WRAS IRN R060 — hose-union taps (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Water UK — hosepipe ban FAQ (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Ofwat — hosepipe bans and non-essential use bans (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Met Office — hosepipes and hidden health risks (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Hozelock — measure your tap and choose a connector (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Easy Garden Irrigation — garden hose pipes (retrieved 22.10.2026)