How to Make a Sprinkler Out of a Plastic Bottle

In some areas of the country the coming Winter will bring little if any relief to hot temperatures. Some children, lucky enough to live in areas that are warm year round will still be looking for ways to cool off while the rest of us are bundling up.

The following project involves using inexpensive items such a plastic two liter soda bottle, a garden hose and duct tape to make an inexpensive sprinkler. The project has an added bonus of helping you save money and help the environment by reusing an item that is commonly thrown away while staying cool. The sprinkler can also be used to water plants and flowers.

Begin the project by obtaining an empty two liter soda bottle. Remove the label and wash the bottle thoroughly with warm, soapy water and rinse the bottle well. There will be no need to dry the inside of the bottle. However you will need to dry the outside of the bottle, particularly the spout so the duct tape you use will be able to adhere to it properly.

The creation of this project requires parental supervision as the next step involves use of a sharp knife or a sharp pair of scissors. Using the sharp tool of your choice make three vertical rows of three slits in the side of the bottle. There should be a total of nine slits. Feel free to increase this number, though you will probably need to make the slits smaller then.

Now you are ready to attach the bottle to the hose. If you are lucky then your hose attachment piece will be the right size to screw onto the bottle. If not it should still be large enough to slip over the very top of the bottle. Do so and then wrap several pieces of duct tape around the connection. Make sure that it is very secure or else the force of the water will push the bottle off of the hose when you turn the water on.

There are not many choices for decorating the bottle since any decoration used would have to stand up to being consistently wet. Waterproof paint is one option. If you choose to use this method to decorate the sprinkler then I suggest that you use spray paint the bottle with several light coats of spray paint, allowing the bottle to dry between each coat of paint. Finish the decoration by spraying the bottle with a coat of waterproofing clear coat. Then allow the bottle to dry and begin cutting slits in it just as you normally would.