How To Attach Garden Hose To Kitchen Sink

How to Attach a Garden Hose to a Kitchen Faucet

Kitchen faucet picture How to Attach a Garden Hose to a Kitchen Faucet from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

It is convenient to attach a garden hose to a kitchen faucet when a large container needs to be filled with water, or when plants need to be watered. This is especially the case when an outdoor garden hose spigot is not available. Even when a garden spigot is available, hot water may be needed. Large containers may be too heavy to lift from the kitchen sink, and may not fit in the sink or under the faucet at all. Containers may also be unsanitary and pose a health risk if they come in contact with the kitchen sink or counter top. Garden hoses can be easily attached to kitchen faucets that have screw-on tips.

Steps

Get a faucet adapter. This is a small adapter that screws onto the faucet and converts the end of the faucet into a male garden hose fitting.
Unscrew the faucet tip. Take care not to drop pieces that are contained within the tip. A good idea is to put a towel in the sink to catch anything you may drop; the towel will prevent things from going down the drain.
Screw on the faucet adapter. Make sure that it forms a good seal with the faucet, but there is no need to use tools to tighten it.
- If a vacuum breaker is not integrated into your plumbing system, screw a hose type vacuum breaker on the hose threads before you connect the garden hose. Hose type vacuum breakers are available at hardware stores. This prevents a siphon from developing and drawing chemicals or waste into the drinking water supply if the hose gets accidentally left in (submerged in) a container with cleaning chemicals or contaminated, unpotable water.
Screw on the hose. The hose screws onto the faucet adapter. Make sure it is screwed on tightly enough so that it forms a watertight seal.
- The hose has a gasket in it that prevents leaks.
- Make sure that the gasket is in the hose before attaching the hose to the faucet.
Replace the faucet tip after using the hose. Remove the hose and faucet adapter, then screw the faucet tip back on relatively tightly so that it forms a good seal.
Check for leaks. The faucet may leak from the replaced faucet tip.
- To prevent or stop leaks from the faucet tip, first remove the faucet tip, then apply two or three turns of teflon tape clockwise to the threaded area of the faucet.
- Pull the tape tightly around the threaded area of the faucet, being careful not to let extra tape overhang the area where the water exits the faucet, as it may impede the flow of the water.
- Screw the faucet tip on over the teflon tape. Excess tape may be visible.
- Cut the excess tape gently with a knife.
- Remove the excess tape.
Use the leak-free faucet.

Tips

Some kitchen faucets may not need a faucet adapter.
Screw on the faucet adapter, faucet tip, and hose without tools (screw on hand-tight).
Apply the teflon tape clockwise on the threads. (clockwise as you look into the open end of the faucet, hose, pipe, etc.)

Warnings

Improperly screwing on a faucet adapter and faucet tip to a faucet may strip the faucet threads and damage the faucet.
Be sure your tips don't fall down the sink. It is very difficult and painstaking to disassemble the disposal tank.
Be careful to avoid submerging the hose in water. Otherwise it can siphon water back into the house water supply, causing it to become contaminated. This is a potential health hazard, and in most cities in North America is a violation of the plumbing code. This can happen because this system lacks a vacuum breaker (in either the faucet or the hose connection) which is designed to prevent this sort of siphoning. This also applies to kitchen spray hose attachments, outdoor garden hoses, and other such connections.
Care must be taken to avoid the situation which may result in a spray of water around the place upon removal of the hose pipe adaptor from the kitchen faucet. This may quite possibly occur under the circumstance of turn off the hose at the nozzle and forget to turn off water at the point of the faucet tap and then proceed to dismember the hose attachment at the faucet. This situation can also be observed when the pressure that is contained within the hose is not released by bleeding the hose pipe at the nozzle post turning off the faucet. This holds true as pressure is maintained via the elasticity of the hose, and does also result in a spray of water - even when the faucet tap has been moved to the 'off' position. To be careful is to be dry, in this circumstance.

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