“Even if you actively avoid putting harmful chemicals into your yard or garden in the form of pesticides, you could still be adding hazardous chemicals into your soil by watering with one of these hoses, ” said Gillian Miller, Ph.D, staff scientist at the Ecology Center.  “The good news is that none of these chemicals are necessary in garden hoses, and a number of safe hoses are available.”

​

Conventional Hoses

Conventional garden hoses contain toxic chemicals such as Lead and phthalates which are unnecessary additives in garden hoses and should be eliminated. These are found at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Meijer, Target, and Amazon online. You will find these warnings g here in California: California Proposition 65​

• ❌ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Lead which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

• ❌ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Styrene which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. 

• ❌ PVC hose: contains heavy metals, Flame retardants, and toxic elements 

• ❌ Heavy metals and toxic chemicals: lead, bromine, antimony, arsenic, bromine, cadmium, chlorine and tin

• ❌ Phthalates

• ❌ Bisphenols (BPA-BPS)

• ❌ Rubbers

 

​Greenwashing Hoses

Greenwashing is when a brand pretends to be organic, eco-friendly, natural, or safe when it is not. They use misleading greenwashing techniques, tactics, and claims to convince you to buy their products! 

• ❌ “Lead-free couplings” Label is not sufficient: Although the metal fittings will be low in lead, the flexible hose may contain lead as well as bromine, antimony, and phthalates; for example, both of the Swan Soft & Supple hoses and both of the Apex NeverKink hoses we tested.

• ❌ Recycled PVC e-waste should not be used in garden hoses because this introduces hazardous flame retardants, lead, organotins, and phthalates back into a new product used for water. This potentially increases contamination of soil, people, and pets. Lead, phthalates, bromine (suggesting flame retardants), antimony, and tin (suggesting organotins) remain common in the plastic parts of PVC hoses.

• ❌ Some metal hoses: Proposition 65 for titanium dioxide, other chemicals

 

Drinking Water Safer Garden Hoses

To get the safest hoses for your Garden, Camper, Gardening, Boat, and Trailer on the market you need to search for 100% virgin polyurethane. They need to meet both FDA and NSF standards for drinking water-safe applications. No regrind or recycled resins that can often be contaminated and/or have compromised mechanical properties.

✅ Polyurethane (PU) labeled safe for drinking water

​✅ Food-grade material

✅ CA65 Certified Drinking Water

✅ NSF Certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 for material safety and NSF/ANSI 372 for lead-free content.

✅ FDA standards for drinking water safety

✅ Lead-free, BPA-free

✅ Phthalate-free

✅ Made in the USA

​

Regardless of which hose you use, do not use water that has been left sitting in it. Let it run for a few seconds before using it for watering food plants or water play. • Store hoses in the shade. Heat increases the leaching of plastic additives into water

​

According to HealthyStuff.org these are the top safer-rated polyurethane hoses brands in this study:

 

• 🌿 Big Boss Big Boss AquaStream Ultra Light Garden Hose

• 🌿 Water Right Professional Coil Garden Hose.

• 🌿 Room Essentials Coil Hose with Multi Pattern Nozzle (moderate-heavy metals)

• 🌿 Pocket Hose Dura-Rib II (still high in chlorine)

 

If you want to make your organic garden truly organic and thriving here are the approved hoses:

Shop with my links to support my research 💖