Hose reels come in all shapes and sizes. You can invest in hose reel for your vacuum hose, your solution (pressure) hose, and your water hook-up (garden) hose; or you can invest in an assembly of all three. These hose reels can be set-up to be a “live hook-up” or independent. The vacuum hose reel can be electric, so with the flip of a switch it will automatically reel in your vacuum hose, or it can be a manual reel where “arm power” brings back your vacuum hose. These reels can be mounted out of the side or the back of your truck or van. They can even be part of a freshwater tank/hose reel combination like with the HydraMaster HydraCradle or the 85 Gallon Freshwater tank. You can find out more about just some of the hose reels that HydraMaster carries at our website. In addition, it is likely that your local HydraMaster distributor carries additional hose reel offerings in their inventory. Hose reels and hose reel combinations can cost you between $600 and $5500 ($USD) depending upon what you get. Even if you are presently operating only portable equipment, it might be wise to check out if a hose reel to hold your hoses will save you time and effort.

But before you start hearing all kinds of different opinions about what the right hose reel is to buy, perhaps you should first start with some general reasons with why they can be a great investment for you:

• You can conveniently store between 150′ and 300′ feet of house on a specific reel. This increases the additional room in the back of your van or truck to carry all your other gear, plus it is enough hose for most of the jobs you sign up for.
• They extend the life of your vacuum and solution hose by keeping it off the floor of your van or truck
• Electric hose reels allow you to quickly and easily retrieve and “roll-up” your hoses saving you time. Think about it for just a minute: many of the smaller jobs you go to you spend more time setting up and “tearing down” than you actually do cleaning the carpet or hard surface floors.
• A hose reel makes it easier to clean and maintain your hoses making for the best presentation for your customer, and keeping you from transferring the soil and leaves from one job site to the next.
• You can save even more time and money and increase your productivity by selecting the optional live solution hose reel hook-up. Only “un-reel” the amount of hose you need on smaller jobs with shorter hose pulls

What if a hose reel is not in your budget right now? You can store and handle your hoses through a couple of different methods than just dumping them on the floor of your van or truck. Most cleaners wrap up 50′ sections and hand them with a bungee cord to the side of the van or to their chemical shelf. A few still store their hoses in large plastic garbage cans and take them out and put them back in after every job. Feel free to share your ides for hose handling.