Can You Safely Drink from Your Garden Hose?

Is your garden hose safe to drink water from? If you’re using a standard garden hose to water your garden, fill your pool or wash your car, chances are that the answer is now. According to a study released by the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, MI, the water from most garden hoses can contain a potent cocktail of toxic substances. Here are some highlights from the Ecology Center’s garden hose survey.

The Ecology Center tested 90 garden hoses from many different manufacturers. They tested the hoses themselves as well as water from each garden hose

Brass garden hose fittings often contain lead. Of the 90 hoses tested by the Ecology Center, 30 of them had lead levels that exceed those that are considered safe for children. In addition, they found that the levels of lead contained in water from the garden hoses were higher than legal safe levels in every single case. That should be a wake-up call for any parent who thinks nothing of letting a child take a sip from the garden hose on a hot summer day, but it’s only the start of the bad news.

Lead was only one of a number of toxic chemicals found in water that came from garden hoses. In addition, the water from every garden hose tested contained phthalates and bisphenol A – more commonly known as BPA. The National Institutes of Health is currently investigating the potential harmful effects of BPA on the brain and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and young children, as well as on the behavior of young children. The study found that the levels of BPA in the water samples were 20 times higher than those given for safe drinking water.

In fact, the study found that 100 percent of the common garden hose products sampled contained a number of plasticizers that are banned from use in children’s products. Research suggests that these plasticizers may be linked to birth defects, asthma, increased breast cancer risk and altered levels of reproductive hormones, including estrogen and androgen. And while the Ecology Center acknowledges that you’d have to drink quite a bit of water from a dangerous garden hose to see most health problems, even small amounts of lead can create serious problems in young children.

The Solution: Choose a Drinking Safe Garden Hose

Thanks to the widespread publicity about drinking water from garden hoses, many manufacturers are now offering drinking safe garden hose products in their product line. When replacing your garden hose with a new one, make sure to look for one that is labeled “drinking water safe” or “lead and BPA free.” Your children’s health – and your own – is at stake.