Garden hoses can be toxic landmines. Many are not drinking water safe yet our children play with, and in, the water from hoses. We also water our gardens. When I started looking for a safe, non-toxic, hose I was overwhelmed. I knew I wanted a drinking water safe hose but there were also other concerns.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
Toxins that are found in garden hoses include:
- Lead
- Heavy Metals
- BPA
- BPS
- PVC
- Phthalates
All of this equals a toxic mess that your kids are playing in or you are watering your plants and vegetables in. There are several hoses out there that state that they are lead free but then are made from PVC and contain phthalates.
Water Right Hoses are the only hoses that I know of that are made from a high grade polyurethane, made in the USA and free from all the contaminants I listed above. They have both a lead free brass (yes, most brass contains lead) and stainless steel. I opted for stainless steel in the 500 series.
When I was doing some of my lead testing I tested my Water Right hose with a Niton XRF and it was free of lead and other heavy metals. You can buy Water Right hoses from Amazon here or directly through their website.
You might think it’s not that big of deal to not use a toxin free hose. My kids not only play in the water but often they end up doing something like this:
Since I have made the effort to make sure our garden is organic, I also want to make sure the water I’m using doesn’t contain toxins. There are two ways I do this. First, I have a Water Right hose. Second, I have a whole house water filter which you can read more about below (including a discount code).
It is a bit more of an investment than other hoses but one that is worth it in the long run! We have had our Water Right hoses for quite some time and we have had zero issues with them.
As I mentioned above, we also have a whole house water filteration system so even the water we use though our hose is filtered of contaminates. Pure Effect offers both whole house and kitchen sink water filters. Having filtered water is one of the most important, non toxic things you can do.
Pin it for later!
Any insight on the safest garden hose sprayer?
No, that’s been on my list to find as well. I will update once I find and test something.
Hello any updates a sprayer?
Thank you for your time
Stay safe.
I wish I did but I don’t.
Eco Center tested the “Water Right Professional Coil Garden Hose” and rated it as “Low” concern. But the “Water Right 25 Ft Slim Light Polyurethane Garden Hose” tested as “High” concern due to elevated chromium, lead and tin. Could you let us know exactly which ones you tested?
https://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/samples/25-ft-slim-light-polyurethane-garden-hose
The Ecology Center testing was from 2013. The lead was on the connector. My connector was lead-free. I know others who have tested their Water Right hoses as well and they are lead-free. My guess is they changed their product to be fully lead-free sometime after 2013.
So which one is the safest I’m confused the one she has linked in the article is the one linked here with high concern level, should I be buying the coil one instead by water right? Also do I need to be concerned about the sprayer itself and also a 2 way splitter? My daughter is immunocomprimsed so I need clean water in case she drinks it’s outside playing in her water toys! Thanks again please add links.
Waterright with the stainless connector is what I recommend. I haven’t found a good sprayer that I can confirm is heavy metal free. Look for stainless steel if you can find one.
Another question in addition to a good hose and attachments, can you recommend a good water filtration hose attachment to filter the actual water itself? My daughter is immunocomprimsed so I want the safest water possible. Thanks again
Do you have a whole house water filter? If so, look to see if your water hits that filter before going to your garden hose. Ours does, so we filter our garden hose water that way.