Hosepipe ban and a spray gun
Updated: October 2026
You are standing at the outside tap with a spray gun, and a headline says a hosepipe ban is in force. If your water company has prohibited that hosepipe use, the gun, the mist setting, and an expandable hose are still that use. The fitting on the end does not opt you out. This page is about the rule in England, from the Environment Agency note for 2 to 8 October 2026, updated on 9 October 2026, and from the Water Industry Act 1991. It is not a product ranking. The ten amazon.co.uk listings stay on our [spray hose comparison](/hub/garden-watering/spray-hose). Check the notice on your own account before you water.
You are standing at the outside tap with a spray gun, and a headline says a hosepipe ban is in force.
You are standing at the outside tap with a spray gun, and a headline says a hosepipe ban is in force. If your water company has prohibited that hosepipe use, the gun, the mist setting, and an expandable hose are still that use. The fitting on the end does not opt you out. This page is about the rule in England, from the Environment Agency note for 2 to 8 October 2026, updated on 9 October 2026, and from the Water Industry Act 1991. It is not a product ranking. The ten amazon.co.uk listings stay on our spray hose comparison. Check the notice on your own account before you water.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Form | Patterns | Fitting | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Onarway Onarway metal spray gun | Spray gun | 10: mist, shower, flat, jet | 1/2 inch quick-connect | 9.4 | about £15.74 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Hozelock Hozelock Multi-Jet | Spray gun | Cone, jet, fast fill, fine rose, flat | Hozelock click fitting | 8.8 | about £20.20 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  Ibergrif Ibergrif M22210 | Spray gun | 8, names not listed | Size not stated | 8.8 | about £6.83 | View offer |
On this page
A spray gun is a hosepipe
Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 lets a water company prohibit specified uses of water, temporarily. The uses that may be prohibited include watering a garden with a hosepipe, watering plants on domestic premises, washing a private vehicle, and cleaning domestic walls, windows, paths, and patios. Thames Water's hosepipe-ban FAQ says a handheld jet or mist is not the allowed drip system, and that a hose from the mains is the banned tool when that use is prohibited. An allowed drip system, on that page, must not throw water through the air as a jet or a mist.
The Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 counts using a hosepipe to include drawing water through a hosepipe from a container and then using it for the prohibited purpose. Filling a butt with the hose, then watering that banned use from the butt, is still in that definition. A rain-filled butt, with no mains hose in the chain, is a different set of facts, and you still read the notice.
Ofwat describes the household fine as up to £1,000. That is Ofwat's explanation, not a quote from your letter. Exemptions are the company's, and they are not the same everywhere. South East Water's Sussex FAQ said exemptions were removed from 9 October 2026 except health, safety, or welfare, while Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, and Berkshire kept the earlier exemptions. Do not copy the Sussex line onto Kent.
Who was restricted in that October note
Drought status on its own is not a ban. The Environment Agency note for 2 to 8 October 2026, updated on 9 October 2026, was one week, and Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are outside it. If you live there, or your English company is not on that week's list, open the page from the company that bills the house.
Exemptions belong to that company, not to a spray-gun listing. None of the guns or expandable hoses in our comparison is exempt because of its pattern count, its metal body, or its price. Product choice, when a hose is allowed again, starts in the buying guide.
What the ban can cover
When a company switches those section 76 uses on, watering a border, watering pots, washing the car, and rinsing the paving can move together. South West Water has said a can is not restricted, while sprinklers and pressure washers on the mains are. Do not copy that sentence onto Thames or Anglian. A mist pattern does not change the tool. If the ban covers you mid-session, turn the tap off. Draining the gun is on the how to use page.
What you can do instead
Ofwat's alternative is a watering can or a bucket. Fill it from an indoor tap only if your notice allows that. A water butt helps when the water in it is rain and you are not refilling it with a hosepipe for a prohibited job.
Skip the basket while the use is prohibited. A new gun does not alter section 76. When the notice is lifted, match the thread first. Until then, the useful purchase is a can you can lift.
Common questions
Is a spray gun allowed if the hose is banned?
No, not for a use the notice prohibits. The gun is on the end of the hosepipe. Thames Water says a handheld jet or mist is not an allowed drip system. If your company has prohibited watering the garden with a hosepipe, the spray gun is that watering. A softer pattern does not create an exemption the notice forgot to mention.
Does mist or a gentle rose change the rule?
It changes how hard the water hits the plant. It does not change the supply. The Act and the company notices talk about the hosepipe, not about which icon is at the front of the nozzle. Thames's FAQ is explicit that a mist in the air is outside the drip arrangement they describe. Leave the dial alone and use a can.
Which companies were on the EA list in that October 2026 note?
Affinity Central and East, Anglian except Hartlepool, Bristol, Cambridge, Essex and Suffolk, Southern in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, South East, South West except Bournemouth, Thames, and Wessex. The note covers 2 to 8 October 2026 and was updated on 9 October 2026. Confirm your company on the day you water. A name on that list was restricted in that week, not for every later week.
Does a drought announcement itself ban my hose?
No. Drought status and a temporary use ban are different steps. The ban is the company's prohibition of named uses. You can see drought coverage and still be allowed to use a hose, or you can be in a ban without having read the national summary. The document that binds the household is the company's notice.
What is the fine Ofwat describes?
Ofwat describes a fine of up to £1,000 for breaking a temporary use ban. Section 76 is the offence. The figure is a reason to read the notice, not a fee you pay for an hour with the hose. If you are unsure, ask the supplier before you water.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the digest for this comparison. amazon.co.uk listings were captured in October 2026.
- Environment Agency, dry weather in England, 2 to 8 October 2026 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Ofwat, hosepipe bans and what they mean for you (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- WRAS IRN R060, double check valve on an outside tap (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Hozelock, how to measure your tap (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- HoseFitFinder, GHT to 3/4 BSP (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- Hozelock, which spray pattern to use (retrieved 17 October 2026)
- RHS, garden watering methods (retrieved 17 October 2026)