Mineral Inhibitors...?

I just bought a couple garden hoses and realized that they contain LEAD! In fact, ALL my hoses did... and because leafy vegis especially will retain this lead, and realized I needed to replace the hoses that will be watering our food... and then it occurred to me that I probably should be doing this for the hoses that water my animals. Leaded water being the only water source for my goats and chickens can't be a GOOD thing...

So I've replaced the hoses that fill any water buckets that animals drink from here. It just got me to thinking... maybe some of the "issues" we have with health problems are caused by the lead? Even if goats CAN process lead better than we can, could the lead they get in water cause them not to absorb other nutrients right? It was just a thought... and I figured I'd share...

On another note.

While researching about molasses for Kare here, I came across some information that suggested sulfur processed molasses (that which is not labeled UNSULFURED) can inhibit the absorption of copper. Which got me to thinking... some RAISINS have sulfurs in them... and raisins are my goats FAVORITE treats. I did some Google research and found out THIS. (scroll down a ways to the "Raisins and Sulfites" section. Looks like I need to be particular about what KIND of raisins I feed for treats!!

Yeah!! RIGHT on the package. I so far, I haven't found ONE hose NOT specifically marked DRINKING WATER SAFE that didn't have a lead warning... I don't think any of my goats are sick from it... but MAN!! I didn't think anything about it... and then one of my hoses had a pretty big label warning about the lead, and it was the new one I got for our garden. I'd been using the hoses we had already to reach the goat pen... they were just cheap "garden" hoses too... and so I'm just figuring based on what I found when I went to replace them, that unless the hose specifically SAYS it's safe to drink out of, one could reasonably assume their hose has lead in it. I found NONE that were labeled "garden hose" without lead warnings. They were labeled for boating, or camping... and in the hardware store, they weren't even in the section WITH the garden hoses. They were in a totally different section. I wouldn't have found them if I hadn't asked if they had them... It's a pretty safe bet at least for me, that the hoses I was using are all lead contaminated. Since hose water is my goat's and chicken's sole source of water, I replaced the hoses. May not matter... but still did it.

Replies

Jessica Furnish May 17, 2011 at 7:32am

The only thing on the back was the warranty. I wonder if you could call the manufacturer and ask them.
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres May 16, 2011 at 6:33pm

Look on the backside of the packaging... on all of the ones I looked at in Walmart, the ones that didn't have a warning on the front had one on the back.
Jessica Furnish May 16, 2011 at 6:26pm

I just bought a garden hose from Wal-Mart and looked at the package for it. I says it has solid brass couplings, it didn't say on the package that it has lead in it. It is the flexon Wal-Mart brand lawn and garden hose. That is really scary to think when you spray your kids and the kids and animals drink from the hose they shouldn't be. I'm glad I bought new ones or I definitely would be!!!
Rachel Whetzel at MigMog Acres May 16, 2011 at 2:34pm

Yeah!! RIGHT on the package. I so far, I haven't found ONE hose NOT specifically marked DRINKING WATER SAFE that didn't have a lead warning... I don't think any of my goats are sick from it... but MAN!! I didn't think anything about it... and then one of my hoses had a pretty big label warning about the lead, and it was the new one I got for our garden. I'd been using the hoses we had already to reach the goat pen... they were just cheap "garden" hoses too... and so I'm just figuring based on what I found when I went to replace them, that unless the hose specifically SAYS it's safe to drink out of, one could reasonably assume their hose has lead in it. I found NONE that were labeled "garden hose" without lead warnings. They were labeled for boating, or camping... and in the hardware store, they weren't even in the section WITH the garden hoses. They were in a totally different section. I wouldn't have found them if I hadn't asked if they had them... It's a pretty safe bet at least for me, that the hoses I was using are all lead contaminated. Since hose water is my goat's and chicken's sole source of water, I replaced the hoses. May not matter... but still did it.
Deborah Niemann-Boehle May 16, 2011 at 2:22pm

You can have the liver of an animal checked for lead. I had the same thought as you a few years ago, and after a buck died, I had them check his liver for everything that they could check for -- copper, selenium, lead, and iron. Copper was at the high end of normal (he'd been bolused one week earlier), selenium was at the low end of normal (so I started doing BoSe), lead was extremely low, and iron was normal.

How did you find out that your water hose contained lead? Was it on the packaging or written on the hose somewhere?

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