If you’ve recently purchased a garden hose from Winston Products’ HydroTech brand, you might want to take a quick peek at the product’s packaging or the inside of the hose to see if you can find a manufacturing date. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently put out a recall for approximately 3.6 million Hydrotech 5/8-inch Expandable Burst-Proof Hoses that were manufactured on or before August 31st, 2024. Unfortunately, the hoses haven’t quite been living up to their name, and have been bursting unexpectedly. The impact from the burst can prove hazardous, and according to Consumer Affairs, the sound the break makes can also put you at risk for temporary hearing damage. Various hose lengths are included in the recall.
If you have a 5/8-inch diameter expandable burst-proof hose from Hydrotech in your garden, disconnect it from your water supply until you can determine whether or not you have a recalled product. If you still have the plastic packaging that the hose came in, check the bottom right corner for a date, written in the MM/YY format. If the date is “0824” or earlier, your hose is included in the recall. If you don’t have the original packaging, find the manufacturing date code just inside of the hose on the end that links to your spigot, underneath the black rubber washer. If the date code ends in a number between -211 and -243, or if there’s no marking where there should be a date code, the product is likely part of the recall.
Read more: Unreliable Appliance Brands To Avoid At All Costs, According To Home Improvement Experts
What to do if you have a recalled HydroTech hose
Photo of recalled HydroTech expandable hose – CPSC
If you purchased your HydroTech hose from Walmart, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, or Do It Best, either in store or online, simply bring your hose to any of the retail chain’s physical locations to claim a refund. If you bought the hose directly from HydroTech’s website, or from Amazon, Target, or another online storefront, you’ll need to submit a voluntary recall claim form on HydroTech’s website. To complete the form, you’ll have to cut the regulator end of the hose off, initial and date the regulator with a permanent marker, and then upload a picture of what you’ve done when filling out the form. You’ll also need to include a photo of the date code. Luckily, there are many unexpected ways to repurpose a garden hose around the house that don’t even involve water, so you don’t necessarily have to throw away the hose scraps right away after you get your refund.
When it comes to replacing your hose, it’s never a bad idea to invest in a quality product. Keep in mind that, although vinyl hoses are lightweight, they usually don’t last as long as rubber or PVC alternatives. A hose’s length, diameter, and flexibility are all factors worth considering when shopping as well. Once you’ve found the right one for your garden, make sure to watch out for a big storage mistake that’s making your hose’s lifespan shorter. In the long term, if you still somehow end up with a leaky product, grab the super glue for a quick hose fix.
Enjoyed this article? Get expert home tips, DIY guides, and design inspiration by signing up to the House Digest newsletter!
Read the original article on House Digest.
Comments are closed.