A Fix for Our Leaky Hose Faucet
A Fix for Our Leaky Hose Faucet

A Fix for Our Leaky Hose Faucet

I need to preface this post by saying that we need a new hose, and we’re planning to buy one next Spring.

Our poor basement has been very wet lately.  We have a humidifier down there, and Jim hangs up packets of Damp-Rid which work really well.  But this summer it’s been wetter than normal, mostly due to 4 reasons:

[1] The humidifier hose, which is supposed to drain into the sump-pump hole, was actually laying on the floor causing a constant puddle.  Thankfully hubby spotted it and steered it back into the hole.

[2] The hot water heater has had a slow leak for a couple months, but started majorly leaking earlier this week, including into our cage [my workshop!] and under my new WorkMate table, Shop-Vac, and Whitmor Shelves:

basement floor is wet from hot water heat leak        water in basement cage from hot water heater leak

Thankfully the water heater was replaced Tuesday, so no more leak!

[3] The foundation leak that always causes our basement cage to get very wet and puddle-y after a rain storm:

211b       basement workshop / cage floor covered in water

[4] And this summer the wall to the right of our basement stairs sprung a leak any time the outside garden hose was left on, and took over a week to dry out.  The leak is due to a small hole in the hose up near the top which sprayed a constant stream of mist against the foundation.  Here’s pics from July & August:

water in basement from hose leak on outside of house        water in basement from hose leak on outside of house

And a pic from this past weekend:

211e

I’m getting very nervous about mold.  Our neighbors and I have been trying to remember to turn off the hose every time we use it, but that doesn’t always happen.  So after work yesterday I tried to fix it with Teflon Tape.  I had never heard of Teflon Tape until I met hubby.  He’s very smart.  I disconnected the hose from the house and wrapped the thread with Tape:

trying to fix leaking outside hose with teflon tape        211f

I screwed the hose back on [over the Tape] and turned on the faucet.  Still leaking.  I realized the leak was actually below the connection to the faucet, between the 2 pieces of metal.  So I wrapped that part with Teflon Tape, too:

211g         211h

Still leaking.  Not quite as much, but still leaking.  So I pulled out my big gun:  a length of green plastic gutter-extender that I bought at Home Depot a few weeks ago.   I unscrewed the hose, fed it through the piece of gutter-extender, screwed the hose back in, expanded the segments of the extender to a length where the leaking water would run through the tube and be deposited about 3 feet away from the foundation, then used my drill to secure the hose to the house so it wouldn’t slip:

211i        211j

The gutter extender runs through part of my neighbor’s garden.  Those plastic mushrooms glow at night – they’re very cool!  You can see in the 2nd pic the cement foundation is a bit wet [as is the dirt] behind the green plastic tube.  That’s from when I was doing my Teflon Tape tests.  Hopefully the tube will alleviate THAT basement leak.  So all that’s left to tackle is the foundation leak in our cage.

Meanwhile, 2 of my hibiscus plants which feature “double flowers” are in full bloom in the yard:

double hibiscus flowers in our garden, orange and red

UPDATE 7/11/2018:

This temporary fix turned into a permanent fix 🙂 There didn’t seem to be any reason to remove the piece of gutter extender. When we buy a new hose [usually every Spring] we just loop it through the piece of gutter extender and reattach the extender piece to the exterior wall of the house.

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8 Comments

  1. Do you just need a new hose?? Try a new washer first–they give out on our hose connectors every year. Good luck! There’s also sealer stuff you can paint on foundation cracks. I’ve never used it, but we should try some in our basement. It gets damp every winter.

    1. Nine Dark Moons

      Ya, we do need a new hose. This was just a temporary fix for the rest of the summer/fall. Next spring we’ll get a new one. I’ve heard of that foundation sealer stuff that you paint on cracks. That’s definitely in the running!

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