On hot summer day, it was tempting to drink some cool water from the garden hose or sprinklers as children. We all did it!
A few days ago, I was watching the news and was shocked to learn that my garden hose was incredibly dangerous. What were they talking about?
Actually, the facts behind the “killer garden hoses lurking in your backyard” are hardly scary.
The news story centered on the fact that most garden hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC. PVC has high levels of lead and other chemicals and, therefore, the claim was that since children and pets sometimes drink from garden hoses, they were getting big doses of toxins when taking the occasional sip.
But before I go any further, just think about it: Do children and pets really drink a lot of water from garden hoses?
Is the garden hose a main source of water for children and pets?
Are they drinking gallons of water this way?
Sure, during summer months, kids consume some “garden hose water” as they play in the sprinkler or splash in the kiddie pool.
They may take a gulp or two when mom’s watering the garden. But in general, kids do not get the bulk of their water in any given day, much less during their lives, from the garden hose.
I was lucky that I had time to look into this story and question its merits.
I was able to ignore the hysteria and consider the facts. And... those facts are reassuring.
Most garden hoses are indeed made of polyvinyl chloride, which is toxic if consumed in large quantities. Yet it is impossible... let me repeat that word, impossible for a human to consume enough water to reach toxic levels of PVC exposure.
Why is this impossible?
Because the amount of chemical that leaches into the water is so minuscule that a person would have to consume massive amounts of garden hose water in order for it to be a problem. And... if a person attempted to drink the amount of water required to reach PVC toxicity, they’d first die of dilutional hyponatremia or otherwise known as death by water overdose.
Don't always buy into the hysteria that makes the media have a job.
Nana
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