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Toxic chemicals from standard garden hoses & safe hose alternatives

Microbeman

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
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cPVC is best for potable water...apparently. Most municipalities us PVC to deliver drinking water in new installations and plumbers use flexible HDPE (pex) for plumbing homes. A bit of a paradox if PVC is unsafe. We tore out all the galvanized pipe in my house and replumbed with pex.

I can say that microbes seem unaffected by PVC.
 
magiccannabus

magiccannabus

Next Stop: Outer Space!
Veteran
Your sources of PVC in the US is probably going to be cleaner than foreign sources. If you live in Cali, they have pretty strict local standards on plastic water lines, which could potentially explain why it's not been an issue for your microbes. Then again, I'm not sure lead or even mercury are going to outright kill the micro herd. I'm not really sure what impact it has. Have you ever purposely put lead or mercury into a culture to see what happens? I know those metals cause birth defects in higher order animals, but microbes in soil are probably more adapted to the presence of heavy metals than other types I would assume.
 
DARC MIND

DARC MIND

Member
Veteran
word
im sure like fungi they can filter toxins and if composting is a method of bioremediation then im sure ACT would work as well...rhizofiltration uses plants roots to clean water,something lots of cities should really consider...
these methods would fit right in advance permaculture courses
 
F

floral

Member
If I were upgrading my garden hose, which search terms would yield the best results? "food-grade hose"? "cPVC hose"? "saltwater reef system" + "hose"?
 
SilverSurfer_OG

SilverSurfer_OG

Living Organic Soil...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Good subject. Its the everyday stuff we take for granted that can be the worst for our health and possibly our gardens.

Heres a good article from Natural News http://www.naturalnews.com/033122_garden_hoses_lead.html

I have started to replace my cheap hoses with products made by Nylex. Their hoses are advertised as cadmium and barium free and fully recyclable. I still wouldnt leave it laying out in the sun but...

http://www.productreview.com.au/p/nylex-commando.html

Cadmium is a bad one and quite prevalent in consumer products. Car tyres are full of it and should never be used to grow potatoes etc in!!!

:smoweed:
 
IncredibowlBoss

IncredibowlBoss

Member
floral said:
If I were upgrading my garden hose, which search terms would yield the best results? "food-grade hose"? "cPVC hose"? "saltwater reef system" + "hose"?
Click to expand...

+"Drinking water safe" +hose

I picked up a Gatorhyde hose from factoryhosedirect.com and I'm very happy with it
 
N

noyd666

hi ,after reading this interesting artical, you could say stoners are health concerned folk's, not brain dead at all lol .changed a fair bit of hose out myself. itoo remember as akid in summer clearing hot stinky water out of old, rubber hoses then, i think.
 
F

floral

Member
Hoses safe for drinking water seem to be out there, but I have yet to find a spray nozzle that's lead-free. Anyone know where to find a stainless steel spray nozzle?
 
C

ClackamasCootz

Expired
Veteran
floral

Check with a restaurant supply outfit - food-grade hoses, connectors, etc. Industrial strength and worth considering perhaps.
 
SilverSurfer_OG

SilverSurfer_OG

Living Organic Soil...
ICMag Donor
Veteran
OrganicLearner said:
Does milk jugs and similar plastic containers leach anything into stored fpe or other teas at all?
Click to expand...

Should be ok just dont put anything hot in there. Not that you would...

Its why you should never microwave food in plastic or eat frozen ready meals etc that are boil in the bag.
 
Oregonism

Oregonism

Active member
Could Teflon tubing be an option?


Look up Pex, its spendy, and its hardpiping, but I used some two years ago, to set up a greenhouse aeroponic setup. Not a hose, but it is interesting for other applications. They might make hose by now.

Pex tubing is often used in housing for drinking water, etc. Just go read if you are interested. Pex actually started making weaponry in the 1600's in England, same company today, lol.

As far as leaching, you will have to look up the number system [milk is #2, hdpe[food grade] same as the pex].
The USGS did a fairly comprehensive test on chemicals found in U.S. drinking water in 2008. They found food-grade plastic particles in some of the samples.

All plastic [all plastic made w/petrochemicals] is questionable in my opinion even food grade. They just started phasing out BPA, which is in older hoses, maybe less than 2-3 years old.

After doing drinking water testing for a city, a few years ago, BPA and #2, #3, #4 and #5 have all showed trace amounts in my past samples. There is a threshold and it was below that threshold, so it was never reported at the state level. [If anyone is interested Standard Methods 18th Ed. is what I used for sampling criteria.]

I cannot speak to [with absolute certainty] if exposure is negative. It seems that people ingest plastic on rate farther superior to what is reported. Certain illnesses are on the rise, certain illnesses are on the decline is it related?
The hdpe, seems to if anything, just slow breakdown rates and therefore it is an assumed that exposure is far less than some of the other non-food grade plastics. Who's to say? Disinfo usually seems to be the truth on these hotly debated topics.
 
B

BlueJayWay

I needed a hose ASAP and saw an RV/trailer hose "drinking water safe" at the big box store, still need to research it but I bought it, 25' hose
 
N

noyd666

:biggrin: hi, you might be interested in this site for hoses, etc, google up, hoselink .com.au. i got i set for inside, no leaks, dribbles, no burst off. its' in aus so freight could be shit. tis good shit ,i kid ya not.:laughing:
 
O

OrganicLearner

Member
MM-"I can say that microbes seem unaffected by PVC"

I'm going to use a pre fab. raised bed in my back yard and it comes with PVC for everything to hold its place and the PVC is exposed in the corners so when you fill the bed with soil the PVC is buried with the soil.

Should I be worried about toxins leaking into soil and get some other alternative piping or just leave it alone? What would you guys do? WWMMD? WWCCD?

Lol but seriously, I dont want to get all the ammendments and good compost together and then have it poisoned by a lil PVC..
 
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