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.

Who Wants a Garden Hose for Christmas?

When you’re writing up your Christmas gift list this year, chances are that it won’t include a garden hose among your list of most-wanted items. If you’re serious about gardening, though, there are a number of garden hoses that you just might want to add to your list of gardening tools. Now, we’re not suggesting that you should give up your wish for diamond earrings for any old garden hose, but if you’ve got room under your tree, you might look forward to spring gardening and put in a request for one of these.

Coil Garden Hose

If you do small space gardening, you need a garden hose that’s designed to fit into your gardening lifestyle. The coil garden hose was created specifically to make watering tasks easier in enclosed, small spaces like your patio or deck. Unlike a traditional hose, the coil garden hose never needs to be rolled up on a garden hose reel. It takes up very little storage space and is far easier to maneuver in and around your patio furniture and container plants. If you’ve been watering your patio plants and container gardens with a watering can or traditional hose, you’ll love how easy a coil garden hose makes it to water all of your plants.

Garden Hose Reel

Increase the life of your garden hose and keep your garden looking tidy by investing in a high-quality garden hose reel. There are dozens of styles and types of reels available for garden hose storage. They range from wall-hung racks designed for small 1/2 inch garden hose to free-standing bins with self-retract mechanisms designed to hold your 100-foot 3/4 inch garden hose or even a one inch water hose. Storing your garden hose on a garden hose reel will keep it off the ground and reduce the chances of rot, decay and bacteria.

Heated Garden Hose

Make the morning watering chores easier during the colder months with a heated garden hose. Heated hoses come in a variety of sizes and varieties. They all have a built-in electric heater that keeps water from freezing inside the hose. The least expensive of them are heated at the faucet connector, which keeps the hose clear for water to flow. A heated garden hose is an important tool for anyone who needs to use a garden hose regularly during the winter months.

A garden hose may not be the most romantic of holiday gifts, but the right garden hose can make your life easier and give you more time to enjoy the things you love. Isn’t that a great reason to ask for a special garden hose from Santa this year?

About Choosing a New Garden Hose

Spring may seem a long way off, but the winter months will fly by more quickly than you know. Before long, you’ll be getting ready to roll out the garden hose for spring cleaning and gardening chores. Will your garden hose be strong enough to stand up to the daily use you’ll give it or will you find that it gets increasingly leaky and annoying to use with each passing day?

If your garden hose needs replacing, you’ll find hoses in a wide variety of materials, lengths, diameters and fittings, as well as hoses with specific features that suit them for particular uses. Choosing the right garden hose is a fairly simple matter, but it does take a little time and consideration.

Construction, Size and Maintenance

When deciding which garden hose to buy, consider your climate and the way you intend to use it. Most hoses for home use are made from vinyl or rubber, or a combination of the two, but you’ll find many that are reinforced with nylon or fabric to add to their strength and flexibility. You can buy a garden hose as short as 10 feet long and longer than 100 feet. A 1/2 inch garden hose is a good choice for small gardening chores, though most experts recommend at 5/8 inch garden hose for typical household use – it carries more water and can deliver higher water pressure. If you’re planning to use your garden hose with a pressure washer or you need stronger water flow, a 1 inch water hose can deliver.

Climate Considerations

You’ll want a garden hose that can survive both the drying heat of the sun’s UV rays and, depending on the climate, the cold of winter. Vinyl garden hoses are fine for milder climates and light use. If you live in a harsher climate and will use the garden hose during the winter, consider a rubber garden hose, which is more expensive but will last longer and can carry hot water as well as cold. If your garden hose will be used through freezing temperatures, consider a heated garden hose, designed to keep ice jams from forming in the hose.

Size and Garden Hose Fittings

When you choose a garden hose, you should consider both length and diameter. Choose a garden hose that’s long enough to reach everywhere you need to water without tugging and pulling on it. At the same time, keep in mind that longer hoses are heavier, harder to maneuver and have a greater chance of being accidentally snagged or punctured. Look for garden hose fittings made of brass rather than plastic – they’re easier to replace if need be and are less likely to be crushed or broken. Octagonal fittings are easier to screw and unscrew on the spigot than standard round garden hose fittings.

Keep in mind that there are many different types of specialty garden hoses, including coil garden hose for use in small spaces and drinking safe garden hose for carrying potable water. When choosing a garden hose, consider all the important factors to make sure you get a hose that will do the job you need efficiently and effectively.

Choosing the Right Garden Hose

Your garden hose may be the last thing on your mind right now, especially if you live in one of the northern states. With gardening chores done for the year, you’ve probably tucked it away in your basement to await the start of spring in a few months. This could be the ideal time to start shopping around for the right garden hose for the next growing season, though. After all, why wait until you hook up your hose in the spring and realize that it’s sprung a leak sometime over its storage when you can start the season with a fresh, new garden hose that fits your needs perfectly.

That just leaves you with the conundrum of how to choose the right garden hose for your needs. These tips can help you figure out what you need and find the best hose to fulfill them.

Remember the Past

Start by thinking back over the summer and the times you’ve used your garden hose. How have you used it? Where did you use it? Was it sufficient for your needs or did you find yourself wishing it was just a little longer or that it didn’t tangle so much? Use your complaints and all your irritations from a season of gardening and outdoor tasks to help you figure out what you want in a replacement for your garden hose.

Check to See What’s Available Online

If you haven’t replaced your garden hose in a few years, you may be surprised at the variety of hoses and features that are available these days. Take some time to browse the stock at a garden hose store or in the gardening department of a home improvement store. You’ll find hoses made of rubber, vinyl and other materials, and in all sizes from 1/2 inch garden hose to 1 inch water hose. There are specialty hoses available for various needs, including drinking safe garden hose, heated garden hose and coil garden hose options that offer easy storage. The more you know about the types of garden hoses available, the easier it will be for you to choose the best one for your needs.

Don’t Forget Accessories

While you’re shopping for a new garden hose, take a detour through the accessories and parts available. A garden hose reel is a necessity to keep your hose stored off the ground, for example, and an extra set of garden hose fittings can help you extend the life of your new garden hose for even more years.

What Kind of Garden Hose Do You Need? Advice for First Time Buyers

If you’ve never bought a garden hose before, you may think it’s an easy process – or you may find the whole process confusing. A walk down the aisle of the typical gardening or home improvement store will expose you to dozens of garden hoses in many different sizes, colors, configurations and materials. You may be tempted to just grab the nearest garden hose and head for the register, or conversely, you could end up walking up and down the aisle reading the garden hose labels and trying to figure out which is the best one for your needs. Neither approach is very productive. If you’re buying a garden hose for the first time, these things can make your life much easier – and ensure that you get a hose that will do what you need.

Figure Out Where Your Hose Needs to Reach

Think about the various ways you intend to use your garden hose Chances are that you’re looking for one right now because you need it for a specific purpose: washing your car, watering a garden or filling a pool are some of the most common reasons that people go out looking for a new garden hose for the first time. Consider where else you might want your hose to reach before you start shopping. It will help you buy a hose that’s long enough but not too long.

Measure the Distance from the Outdoor Faucet

Most people are notoriously inaccurate when they try to estimate distances. Instead of guessing, grab a tape measure and measure the distance from the outdoor faucet to the furthest distance your garden hose needs to reach. If you have several different uses in mind, measure the distance to each of them.

Don’t Buy a Longer Hose Than You Need

In some cases, it makes more sense to buy two shorter hoses than it does to buy one very long hose. If you’ll need 25-foot garden hose to reach your garden every day, for example, but your driveway is 50 feet away from the spigot, you’re probably better off buying a 25-foot hose for your gardening needs and a second 25-foot garden hose that you can attach to the first for extra length to reach your car in the driveway once a week or once a month.

Why would you buy two hoses instead of one 50-foot garden hose Long garden hoses can make your life more difficult. You’ll end up with lower water pressure and a lot more hose that can get twisted, kinked or bent. A 25-foot hose is also much easier to put away than a 50-foot garden hose.

Buy a Garden Hose Reel

Pay a little extra to get a high-quality garden hose A $30 hose will last years longer than a $10 bargain hose. While you’re at it, spring for a garden hose reel or jar to hold you hose when it’s not in use. It will last longer if it’s not in contact with the ground or laying around your lawn.

In addition to the basics, you may also find some particular features in garden hoses helpful. A drinking safe garden hose is a good idea if you intend to water vegetables or if you’ll be filling a pool for children who might swallow water, for example, and a one inch water hose is a great option if you need a lot of water pressure or want to fill a pool or a pond.

Things You Need to Know About Your Garden Hose

The right garden hose can make your chores around the garden, yard and garage much easier. The wrong one can put roadblocks in your way in subtle ways you don’t always recognize. If you’re trying to water your garden, wash your car, fill your swimming pool or water your animals with a garden hose that isn’t right for the job, you could be wasting time and dealing with unnecessary frustration every time you try to do an outdoor task. Here’s what you should know about your garden hose to make your outdoor tasks much easier.

Choose the Right Hose for the Job

There are garden hoses and there are garden hoses. A standard garden hose will do for most of your outdoor tasks, as long as it’s the right length. In most cases, you’ll want to avoid buying a hose that’s a lot longer than it needs to be to reach the places you’ll use it most. If, for example, you can reach the farthest corner of your vegetable garden with a 25-foot garden hose there’s no need for a 50-foot garden hose If anything, it will make your daily tasks more difficult because it will be more prone to kinking and tangling. You’ll have more length to drain and rewind on a garden hose reel. And the water will reach the business end of your hose at a greatly reduced water pressure.

But what if you also want to be able to reach the driveway, which is 40 feet away from the outdoor faucet? Most experts suggest that you invest in two 25-foot hoses rather than a 50-foot garden hose When you need the extra length, you can just hook the two hoses together.

Specialty Hoses

In addition to standard garden hoses, you’ll also find many kinds of specialty hoses available from home improvement stores and garden stores. Among the most popular:

Coil Garden Hose

Coil hoses are designed for use and storage in small spaces. Unlike traditional garden hoses, which must be manually coiled or rolled onto a garden hose reel, coil garden hoses are shaped into a permanent coil that resembles nothing so much as a metal spring. They’ll extend to reach all the corners of your patio, then coil back on themselves without any effort on your part.

Drinking Safe Garden Hose

Standard garden hoses are treated with chemicals that can leach into standing water, making them dangerous for drinking. In fact, independent tests have found very high levels of lead in water that had been standing in garden hoses for as little as a few hours. For safety’s sake, choose a hose that is labeled “drinking safe,” especially if you use the garden hose to fill wading pools for children or pets’ water dishes.

Choosing the right garden hose can make your yard and garden tasks much easier. The few extra minutes it takes to find the right hose will pay off in much longer life and a lot less hassle over time.

Buying a Heated Garden Hose

Buying a Heated Garden Hose

For some folks, the watering chores don’t stop with the first frost. The horses don’t stop drinking because your garden hose froze up overnight. If you’re in an RV, you still need to get water even if the temperature drops below freezing. Contractors and construction workers don’t quit working just because the nights get colder – they still need a garden hose or water hose to mix concrete, hose off work surfaces and perform many other tasks. Even gardeners in colder climates will find that a heated garden hose can be a worthwhile investment for early spring and late autumn garden chores.

What Is a Heated Garden Hose?

In most cases, a heated garden hose is a short length of hose line that has an integrated heating element to keep water from freezing inside the hose. They are designed to plug into a grounded outdoor plug, and may be left plugged in around the clock or just plugged in when you’re ready to use them. They come in many sizes, so you can buy a 1/2 inch garden hose or 3/4 inch garden hose with a heating element if that’s your need. You can even find a workhorse one inch water hose with a heater. The most popular types of heated garden hose are controlled by a thermostat to switch the heater on when ambient temperatures fall to just above freezing and switch off when there’s no danger of a freeze. This prevents water from freezing inside the garden hose and placing wear and tear on the rubber and PVC material.

Who Needs a Heated Garden Hose?

Anyone who needs running water outside during freezing temperatures will benefit from a heated garden hose. The benefits are many, but two of them stand above the others. First, freezing and thawing of water inside the hose stresses and weakens it, making it more prone to cracks and leaks. A heated garden hose will last longer than a standard hose in freezing conditions. Second, you’ll save time and hassle because you’ll never have to thaw out a hose before you can use it again. If you own livestock, garden in a greenhouse in sub-freezing temperatures, use a garden hose for RV camping or on a boat or have any other use for a hose when the temperatures fall below freezing, then a heated garden hose is for you.

As an added bonus, most heated garden hoses on the market today are made with FDA approved materials, so they double as a drinking safe garden hose to water your animals or supply your RV with drinking water. Why spend time thawing out your hose before you can get to your chores? Invest in a heated garden hose and make your life easier.