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