How to get rid of mold on Garden Hose? (2023 Update)

[captmikey]

Anyone have a solution to get rid of those ugly black spots that accumulate on a hose that is wrapped around one of those wind-up devices? I guess water drips in/around the hose and seeing as it's probably darker in the middle/end, the hose gets ugly and uglier after you pull the first 25 feet out. The outer length stays nice, and this hose is maybe 2 years old... no leaks, cracks or whatever, but the missus wants me to clean it.

Thought about bleach, but will that actually attack the vinyl and make it sticky? Looking for a solution that costs less than tossing the hose and buying a new one when other than the black spots... there's nothing wrong with it.

TIA! Mike

[Doug Kanter]

Try white vinegar, or put on some rubber gloves and attack it with Lysol.

[Warren]

Cleaning it is only a temporary fix. It's going to keep coming back until you take care of the cause. Find the leak, and fix it. Unroll the hose, and let it sit in the air and the sunlight to let the anaerobic mold die. Then wipe it off with a rag dampened with detergent, and let it dry completely before rolling it up again. If you fixed the moisture problem, the mold won't come back. If you didn't fix the moisture problem, it really doesn't matter what you clean it with because the mold will come back.

[Rolling Thunder]

Try deck cleaner. Worked on a lawn chair with mold on the plastic.

Thunder

[JohnH]

Tilex ought to work pretty well, but as Warren said, you need to cure the problem, not the symptom.

[Craig]

replying to Doug Kanter, Craig wrote: There is a trick I learned but you have to do it when the hose is new. Take paste wax and cover the whole hose and rub it in and then clean it off. This worked for me.

[Jerico46]

As long as the garden hose remains outdoors in a damp climate on the ground, placed on supports above the ground, or rolled on a holder it will be attacked by black mold whether in Pennsylvania or North Carolina or in between. Bright yellow and green hose, red hose, clear hose. Using a tub, I soaked my hose, fully submerged, in up to 3 X the recommended solution of Clorox, Lysol, Ferti-lome Liquid Systemic Fungicide II, and Moldstat 2. and a combination of all four. The hose laughs at me. I took the hose to the sand pit and soaked them all in gasoline and lit, ball of fire. No more laughing, no more mold, no more hose. I just replaced with black hose. I can't see the mold now. This is not a joke.