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I am trying to connect a garden hose with the faucet. After connecting and turning on the faucet, the water still squirted out. Please see the attached picture.

I am not sure whether I need a wrench to tighten it, or it is just because the faucet or hose connector are too old. Or in other words, is using a wrench to tighten a hose connector a required procedure?

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4 Answers 4

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It's possible to get the hose screwed on by hand tightly enough that it won't leak if your grip is strong enough; I think the strength required is within the normal range for an adult (mine is relatively strong though, so your mileage may vary). But before you get a wrench, there's a couple of things you should check:

  • make sure the threads on the faucet and on the hose are clean; if they've been disconnected over the winter, they could have picked up some dirt or grit which is preventing you from getting a good seal.
  • the hose is supposed to have a rubber washer to make the seal against the end of the faucet. If it's missing, perished, or not seated correctly, then you won't get a good seal. You can get packs of washers (more than you'll ever use, probably) cheaply at the big box stores.

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Once you've got those taken care of, try it with the hose screwed on hand-tight. If you're still getting leaks, you can try using a wrench, but remember that tightening is good, over-tightening is bad because you start to deform the rubber washer, which reduces its effectiveness. Get the hose hand-tight, then use the wrench to go another quarter-turn or so. If it's still leaking, it may be time to get a new hose.

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    All garden hose connections need a rubber gasket in the female side. Garden Hose Threads ("GHT") are not tapered and thus require a sealing gasket. Virtually all leaking garden hoses are caused by a missing or worn-out gasket.
    – Hank
    Jun 4, 2015 at 15:50
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If the leak is around the threads themselves (you can tell vs gasket based on where water comes out), teflon tape (sometimes called plumber's tape) exists for this. It's readily available at hardware and home improvement stores, and very inexpensive.

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Just wrap it around the faucet threads a few time and screw the hose on and it will make a good seal. It's not permanent, you can remove / replace it after removing the hose.

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(Image source: http://plumbing-n-electric.wonderhowto.com/how-to/use-ptfe-tape-teflon-tape-threads-294854/)

Generally I use teflon tape on all summer / long-term garden hose connections by default, leak or not. Combined with garden hose gasket, you don't even need to tighten the connection that hard.

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    You are not supposed to put PTFE tape on garden hose connections, as the rubber gasket is what is supposed to provide the seal. When the connection leaks, it indicates that the gasket is worn (or the connection is not tight enough). Using PTFE will reduce the friction in the connection and might loosen it over time, which might cause just a small, inconsequential leak outside, but might cause a real mess on washing machine connections.
    – sleblanc
    Jun 9, 2019 at 14:46
  • @sleblanc Hmm... much of that sounds suspiciously mythy.
    – Jason C
    Jun 9, 2019 at 15:45
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    The threads are just to hold the fittings together. If it leaks, your rubber gasket is worn out, and the PTFE tape is just serving as a band-aid.
    – sleblanc
    Jun 9, 2019 at 19:47
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    @sleblanc The tape loosening the connection over time is the suspicious part, I mean. The band-aidness, yeah, although I've had brand new hoses leak on crusty old faucets, and I'm not going to replace the faucet just to wash my car every once in a while; sometimes you just need a band aid.
    – Jason C
    Jun 9, 2019 at 20:17
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Garden hose gasket, do you have one? They like to fall out and get lost, and without one it can become nearly impossible to tighten the connection up hard enough to prevent leakage.

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    And make sure the gasket is soft enough to be deformed by the hose end. A stiff old gasket won't make a god seal. May 25, 2019 at 17:27
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I just fixed this same issue today. After trying my best to screw it on over and over it was the tape that did the trick but I still replaced the washer since I had the stuff out already. I also fixed a leaky hookup from my house to sprayer attachment with one of the extra washers. I said something to a friend who owns a plumbing company and he chuckled and said "well I could have told you that". So I'm believing tape method is something that's been around a while plus it makes sense, you can always remove it, and it works.

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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Thanks for the answer; keep 'em coming. And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to contribute here. Jul 29, 2019 at 5:55

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