GardenHoses:WhatToKnowBeforeYouBuy

GardenHoses:WhatToKnowBeforeYouBuy


Hoseforgardeningdon'tlastforever.Whenyou'reinthemarketforanewone,thesetipswillhelpyoumakeaninformedpurchase.


Yourgardenhoseisprobablyworkingovertimethissummerasyouwaterplants,irrigateavegetablegardenorwashthecar.AccordingtohosemanufacturerTeknorApex,agoodgardenhosewilllastfiveto10yearsifproperlymaintained.Abadgardenhose,asmostofushavealreadyfoundout,willwastewater,functionpoorlyandcauseboutsoffrustration.


SotokeepthekinksoutofyourrelationshipwithyourPVCgardenhose,let’stakealookatwhattoconsiderbeforeyoubuyanewone.


Gardenhosesareusedfortransportingwaterovershortorlongdistances.Theycanbeusedforwateringaplant,washingacaroreveryotheractivitywherewaterisneeded.Becausegardenhosesareverywidelyused,theyneedtobeabletodomanydifferentthings.Firstly,theyofcoursehavetodeliverwateratyourchosenlocation.Butthat’swherethesimplicitystops,whilenotallwaterorapplicationisthesame.Areyouworkingwithsupercleanwaterandwanttobe100%surethereisnocontaminationwiththematerialsofthehose?Thenagardenhosewithapvc-freeinnerlayerspeciallymadeforthissituationwillfityourneeds.Isstoragespacelimited?Thenaspiralhose,reelgardenhoseorexpandablegardenhosewillcomeinhandy.Areyoulookingforadripirrigationsystem?Thensoakerhosesmightbethesolution.Foreveryapplicationtherearedifferentproductsavailablespecializedforthatsituation.Readthisarticletomakeajumpstartintotheworldofgardenhoses.

Diametersandlengths


Whenselectingagardenhosetherearemultipleparametersthatwillguideyouintherightdirection.Thediameterofthehoseisagoodstartingpoint.Typicalinternalsizesare13mm(1/2"),19mm(3/4")and25mm(1").It’simportanttoknowthatagardenhosehasaninternalandexternaldiameter.Ifyouwanttoconnectthehosetomalecoupling,theinternaldiameterismostrelevanttoyou.Alsoimportantisthetotallengthofthegardenhose,becauseatooshorthosewon’treachtoyourdestinationandatoolargehosewilltakeupunnecessaryspaceandcauseextrapressuredrop,whichisoftennotdesirable.


Materials


Mostly,gardenhosesaremadefrommultiplematerials.Somegardenhosesareevenmadefromupto8differentlayers.Alltheselayersaremadefromadifferentmaterial.Theouterlayerhastobestrongbecauseit’llbedraggedalongconcreteandstones.OftenPVCisusedforthisouterlayer.Theinnerlayercanbemadefrommanydifferentmaterials.Iftheexpandablegardenhoseissuitablefordrinkingwaterpurposes,oftenPUfood-safematerialsareusedfortheinnerlayer.Allmaterialsusedtogetherdeterminethetemperaturerange,whichisoftenbetween-20°Cand+60°C.Gardenhosescanoftenwithstandpressuresupto30/50bars(435/725psi).Apressuregaugeisplacedtomonitorthepressureinthesystem,tolearnmoreaboutthisreadourarticleonpressuregaugesforwaterapplications.


Reinforcement


Agardenhosewithonlyanouterlayerwouldtwistanddistortveryeasily.Withsomeexceptions,gardenhoseshavebeenstrengthened.Betweentheinnerandouterlayer,areinforcementisaddedmadeofmetal,plasticoranothertypeofstrongmaterial.Thisreinforcementensuresthehoseispressure-resistant,wellprotectedagainstdamage,wearslessquicklyanditwillbucklelessquickly.Especiallyforgardenhoses,thatareusedinharshsituations,thisisaveryimportantfeature.


Couplings


Toconnectagardenhosetoaspigot,sprinklerorvalveyouwillneedcouplings.InmostcasesagardenhoseisconnectedviaGardena-likecouplings.Thesesnap-fitcouplingsexistoftwoparts.Thefirstpartisathreadedfitting(with3/4"and1/2"beingthestandard)andismountedonthepartthatyouwanttoconnecttothegardenhose.Thesecondpartisaquickconnector,whichismountedtothegardenhose.Withthissnap-fitcouplingitisnowpossibletoeasilyconnectthehosetoallthepartsthatarefittedwiththehosefittinglikespigots,valves,spraynozzlesandsprinklers.


We’reallworkinghardtobeconsciousconsumers.Atthegrocerystore,wereadlabelsandsay“no”toplasticpackagingwheneverwecan.Wechoosesafewoodentoysforourkids,avoidpoisonouscleaningproducts,andevengrowourownorganicvegetables.Butwait!Afterallthateffort,areweunknowinglysprayingthatlovelyhealthfulproducewithphthalates,BPA,leadandmore?


AgardenproductsstudycompletedbyTheEcologyCenterlookedat90differentPVCgardenwaterhoseanddiscovereddisturbinglevelsofeachofthosechemicals.Someofthetoxinlevelsexceededsafedrinkingwaterstandardsby20timesormore.


We’veallhadtofacesomehardfactsinrecentyears:itturnsoutthereisnopristineenvironmentanymore,andeventhoselivinginisolatedwildplacesfacecontaminationoftheair,soil,andgroundwater.Butwecantakestepstostopcontributingtotheprobleminourownbackyardswithunsafehoses.Ratherthanthrowupourhandsindespair,wecanspreadawarenessaboutthislesser-knownhomehealthhazard.Notallhosesarecreatedequal,andyoucanchangeyourwateringpracticestohelpyourhosedoitsjobwithoutsprayingneurotoxinsandendocrinedisruptors.Becauselet’sfaceit:ourbodieshaveenoughtodealwithinourmodernenvironmentwithoutaddingtotheirburden.


Chooseyourhosewithcare


Ifyourhosewaspurchasedbefore2007,it’slikelytocontainlead.


Thebrassfittingscancontainupto8%lead,andleadmaybeusedinpigmentsandstabilizers.Greenandyellowhosesareparticularlylikelyculprits.Hosesboughtafter2007aregovernedbyalabelinglawresultingfromaCalifornialawsuit,thoughproducttestingstillfoundleadinnewerhoses.Chooseanewhoselabeledas“lead-free”.Tip:checkmarineorRVstoresforlead-freehosesmarketedforuseinboatsormotorhomes.Thesehoses,oftenwhiteorbeigewithathinbluestripe,workwellassafegardenhoses.Lookfortheclaim:“drinkingwatersafe”.

MostvinylhosesaremadefromPVCominouslynicknamed“poisonplastic”.


PVCreliesonphthalatestoprovideflexibilityandelasticity,butthesechemicalshavereceivedlotsofbadpress.Theyareendocrinedisruptors,causingproblemstohumanreproductivedevelopment,andhavebeenlinkedtolivercancer.Choosenaturalrubberhosesinstead.Food-gradepolyurethaneisanothergoodoption.


Choosenon-brassfittings,madeofstainlesssteel,nickel,oraluminum.


Thesemetalsaremorelikelytobelead-free,andmeetdrinkingwaterstandards.Thesesoakerhosesmadefromoldrubbertireshavenickelplatingoverthebrassfittingstoreducethepossibilityofleachinglead.

Readlabelscarefully,eventhesmallprint.


WatchoutforhosescontainingawarningcitingCaliforniaProp65,stating“thisproductcontainsachemicalknowntotheStateofCaliforniatocausecancerandbirthdefectsandotherreproductiveharm.”It’sworthafewextradollarstoinvestinahosethatwillhelpyouenjoyyearsofwateringwithyourmindatease.


AsktheFDAtoregulatehosesafety.


TheSafeChemicalsActandSafeDrinkingWaterAct