Soda Bottle DIY Sprinkler

Summer is in full swing and kids love nothing more than to beat the heat with a little water fun in the sun. I’ve seen a number of DIY sprinkler projects on Pinterest recently made out of empty soda bottles. I was curious to see how well it would work so armed with duct tape and an empty soda bottle, I went to work.

Supplies:
– duct tape
– empty pop bottle
– empty milk jug (optional)
– tool to make holes in the jug (I used a drill for the pop bottle with a fine bit, but a knife, corn-on-the-cob holder or meat fork would work too)
– garden hose

The first one I made was a ground sprinkler.

Remove label from the bottle.
Poke holes along one side of the bottle, from the spout all the way to bottom. Be careful not to make your holes too big. In my first attempt, I made the holes too big and the water didn’t spray far.

Attach the garden hose to the bottle with duct tape. I started with a smaller piece just to get it going then I used longer pieces.

Turn on the water and test your creation. My 4-year-old son thought it was awesome!

Milk Jug Sprinkler

Another version I had seen involved poking holes in the bottom half of the soda bottle then hang it from a branch so the water comes from above. My concern was that the weight of the water on the duct tape would cause it to pop off and fall eventually. I decided to use an empty milk jug so I could support the weight of the water with the handle rather than rely on the duct tape.

Poke holes in the bottom half of the milk jug. Make sure your holes aren’t too big and poke plenty of holes! On my first attempt, I hadn’t poked enough holes and the pressure caused the hose to pop off.

Next, duct tape the hose to the top of the milk jug. This part is a little tricky since the milk jug opening is bigger than the hose. I recommend inserting the hose into the jug about 2 inches then duct taping it. I used a LOT of duct tape to ensure that it would seal properly.