Usually not. Most garden hoses and outdoor faucets aren't made for drinking water and can contain lead or leach chemicals, especially when the sun heats them. Water sitting in a hose also grows bacteria and can scald. To drink outdoors, use a hose and faucet certified to NSF/ANSI 61 and 372, and run the water first.
What's actually wrong with a regular garden hose?
Four separate problems, and any one of them is enough to skip the sip:
- 1Materials. Cleveland Water says many hoses and outdoor faucets "can contain lead or be made from materials that leach chemicals into the water, especially when heated by the sun." The utility adds that many of them don't meet the safety standards required for drinking water.
- 2The faucet itself. Federal lead-free rules have an exemption for fixtures "used exclusively for non-potable services such as manufacturing, industrial processing, irrigation, outdoor watering," according to the EPA. An outdoor faucet installed only for watering can fall under that exemption, so it may not meet the lead-free limit that applies to your kitchen faucet.
- 3Germs and bugs. Cleveland Water notes that hoses left outside are "susceptible to bacteria and insects." The hose end often sits in dirt, mulch or a puddle.
- 4Stagnant warm water. Research listed in the EPA's Science Inventory found that "The hose environment is ideal for the growth and interaction of legionella and free-living amoebae (FLA) due to biofilm formation, elevated temperatures and stagnation of water."
Why is Phoenix heat a bigger deal?
Sun-baked hoses do two things here: they speed up chemical leaching, and they turn the first burst of water into a burn risk.
The leaching part comes straight from Cleveland Water's warning about materials that leach chemicals "especially when heated by the sun." A black or green hose lying on a Phoenix driveway in July is about as heated as it gets.
The burn part is backed by a 2021 study in Global Pediatric Health. Researchers measured water in hoses lying in the sun and recorded temperatures from 39.9 to 49.8 degrees Celsius (about 104 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit) depending on the surface, with the highest reading on concrete. They put the maximum tolerable temperature for skin contact at 43.5 degrees Celsius (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit) and noted that children's skin is significantly more sensitive than an adult's. In a Phoenix summer, treat any hose lying in the sun as hot until the water runs cool.
That matters most when you're filling a kiddie pool, cooling off a dog or spraying a child. Run the water onto the ground first and feel it before it touches anyone. Then it's safe to aim.
Can bacteria in a hose make you sick?
They can, and drinking is not the only route. The research summary in the EPA's Science Inventory notes that garden hoses may produce fine spray of inhalable size, and "If aerosols are inhaled containing Legionella bacteria, Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever may result." It adds that clinical cases have been linked to garden hose use. A mister or spray nozzle on a hose that sat full of warm water for days is the setup to avoid. Flush it before you use it for cooling off, and drain it after.
What makes a hose safe to drink from?
A hose is safe to drink from when it carries a drinking-water certification. Cleveland Water says a hose or outdoor faucet certified to NSF/ANSI 61 or NSF/ANSI 372 meets safety standards for drinking water use. Here is what each mark means, per the utility:
| Mark | What it covers |
|---|---|
| NSF/ANSI 61 | Passed toxicological evaluations showing the product does not leach chemicals that may cause adverse health effects |
| NSF/ANSI 372 | A weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead across the surfaces that touch water (EPA) |
Look for the NSF logo and the standard numbers printed on the hose and its packaging. Cleveland Water also warns that products claiming to be "compliant with NSF standards" are not the same as certified products. Our page on NSF 61 versus NSF 372 explains the two marks in more depth.
Even a certified hose needs care. The utility's advice: put the hose away when you're not using it and run water through it before drinking.
How do you keep your drinking water safe at the hose bib?
There's also a risk to your household's water: water flowing backward from the hose into your pipes. A hose end dropped in a pool, a bucket of soapy water or a fertilizer sprayer can be pulled back into the plumbing if pressure drops. The City of Everett's backflow brochure calls the outdoor hose faucet "actually a potential cross connection" and advises installing hose faucet vacuum breakers and keeping hose ends out of contaminated water.
A hose bib vacuum breaker is the small cap on the spigot that stops that backflow. Our guide to hose bib vacuum breakers covers the code requirement, and what a cross-connection is explains how backflow happens.
Quick rules for outdoor drinking water:
- Drink from the kitchen tap, not the hose, unless the hose and faucet are both certified for drinking water.
- Run it first. Let the water run until it is cool before drinking, spraying people or filling a pool.
- Store it shaded. The 2021 study suggests a hose stand in a shady spot to cut heating.
- Keep the end clean and up off the ground.
- Check the spigot. A leaking or worn outdoor faucet or a missing vacuum breaker is worth fixing.
If your hose bib is old, leaking or missing backflow protection, HQ Plumbing & Air can replace it with a lead-free, code-compliant faucet as part of our residential plumbing service. We're licensed and insured, and we give free estimates.