"Stubby" wrote in message
...
Justa Lurker wrote:
Soaker hoses are great, but if you live in an area with hard water the
hose will clog with dissolved minerals. Also, fertilizing through drip
hose using liquid or other water soluble fertilizer can clog the hose
too.
Layne
Is there a good way to "unclog" a soaker hose which has started to get
sluggish from such deposits after a season's worth of use ?
I'm getting ready to put two of mine away for the year, and I'd
appreciate suggestions on their "care & feeding" :-)
Funny thing. This town (Chelmsford, MA) is well known for its hard
water, but it hasn't clogged the soaker hoses. We use the $9 hoses from
Home Depot.

It may depend on how one defines hard water. Our irrigation water (AZ
desert) comes from watershed runoff, is very alkaline, and contains a lot
of mineral salts. My experience is that the useful life of soaker hoses,
including those manufactured locally, is only about one year. I have heard
that the plugged hose pores can be cleaned up by soaking and flushing out
with Lime Away but I haven't tried that.

About 8 years ago, I started using Dripworks' ( www.dripworksusa.com ) 15
mil, 40 GPH/100' drip tapes where appropriate or their turbulent flow ,
self- flushing emitters. The drip tapes need to be in a straight line (no
bending or curving around corners) but work very well once one learn how to
use them. MiracleGro is injected regularly using the "EZ Flo Fertilizer
Injector" and there has never been any clogging but there are grayish spots
at the emitter on the drip tapes where the water evaporated leaving the salt
deposits on the tape. Covering with mulch helps to minimize the salt
deposits. I also use the 1/2 inch drip tubing (emitters enclosed in the
tubing) around the drip line of trees and have had no problem with those
either but these are a bit pricey.

Olin