Soaker Hoses
By: Amanda Campbell
Updated: August 13, 2010
Using a soaker hose around the foundation of your house may or may not be the right thing for your home. It really depends on what part of the country you live in and what type of soil your foundation is built on.
Here is what to look for. Make sure that your soil isn't dried and cracked and pulling away from the foundation. If it is, you're going to need a soaker hose. If your soil is naturally moist, then you probably don't need one. Place the soaker hose 12" to 18" away from the foundation. You can buy these at your local hardware store or home center for about $5.00 for 25 feet, depending on how many feet you need. You can connect two together to surround the entire house. The trick is to decide how long it's going to take each day to water the foundation around your house. You don't want to water it so much so that the water pools and gathers, because that can actually cause damage.
To test this, you need to turn the soaker hose on and see how long it takes for the soil to become moist up to the foundation. Once you've determined that, then you can buy a timer for about $10. Set the timer and forget about it. The water seeps out through little holes so that it evenly distributes it all around the foundation. You can bury it in the ground and it'll still work just as well.
Here is what to look for. Make sure that your soil isn't dried and cracked and pulling away from the foundation. If it is, you're going to need a soaker hose. If your soil is naturally moist, then you probably don't need one. Place the soaker hose 12" to 18" away from the foundation. You can buy these at your local hardware store or home center for about $5.00 for 25 feet, depending on how many feet you need. You can connect two together to surround the entire house. The trick is to decide how long it's going to take each day to water the foundation around your house. You don't want to water it so much so that the water pools and gathers, because that can actually cause damage.
To test this, you need to turn the soaker hose on and see how long it takes for the soil to become moist up to the foundation. Once you've determined that, then you can buy a timer for about $10. Set the timer and forget about it. The water seeps out through little holes so that it evenly distributes it all around the foundation. You can bury it in the ground and it'll still work just as well.
