Why NOT a garden hose?

[XanaduMama]

I just got my pool and birth kit, but haven't yet found a hose/adapter that seems reasonable--they're seriously more expensive than the pool!!!

So honestly...why NOT just use a garden hose? I know it's not drinking-water quality, and full of nasty chemicals, but how contaminated is the water really going to get, flowing through at a high speed (assuming you flush the hose out first)? ds plays in his inflatable pool all summer, which we fill with the garden hose, and I'd feel ok swimming in a pool that's been filled that way. My last labor was pretty fast, so I'm not planning on being in the pool for too long (let's hope). And really--I'd rather not pay all that $$$ for a hose I'm going to use once.

Thoughts?

[boobyfeeder]

The lead and chemicals in the hose are enough for me not to use it to fill a birth pool. I don't want my brand new baby born into chemical-laden water. I don't remember where we found one last time, but we kept it for future births.

[georgia]

Rather than purchasing anything, is there someone from whom you could borrow a hose??

We use the RV hose for years afterwards for filling the children's swimming pool (before our area was in a severe drough and we still were able to use outside water). I work pretty hard avoiding unnecessary chemical exposure in all other areas of our lives. When I found out about lead in water hoses, it just made sense to me to try and minimize the amount of exposure. Since we used the hose after the birth, I could financially justify it. IMO, we all have to make decisions based upon our personal comfort levels. I used a regular garden hose w/my first waterbirth, and it wasn't until my next pg. that I read about the lead concerns. It was just one of those things for me that I felt strongly about and felt like the $$ was worth it in my personal circumstances.

[Nan'sMom]

Originally Posted by georgia

Rather than purchasing anything, is there someone from whom you could borrow a hose??

If it was a birth pool hose I'd worry about other peoples' blood having touched it when the pool was getting pumped out (yuck).

I'm subbing to this thread to see if anyone has good ideas where to get one of these. Last time we used a garden hose because we were last-minute but I'd rather not last time.

[shanniesue2]

ummm... we bought a 20 foot RV hose and it was only 10 or 15 dollars. We haven't tried it on the faucet to make sure that it fits, but if it doesn't... adapters arent' terribly expensive.

[earthmama369]

Many garden hoses have lead in them.

[XanaduMama]

Originally Posted by shanniesue2

ummm... we bought a 20 foot RV hose and it was only 10 or 15 dollars. We haven't tried it on the faucet to make sure that it fits, but if it doesn't... adapters arent' terribly expensive.

Where did you get it (and when)? All the hoses I've looked at, whether python or RV, have been around $30 (which still isn't THAT excessive, I guess, but seems like a lot when the pool was only $24). Mostly I'm just trying to decide whether it's worth it--keep the thoughts coming! Our house is really old and likely has lead pipes, but my understanding was that running the faucet for a minute or so makes the amount of leaching pretty minimal--it's when water sits in the pipes that you get contamination.

[shanniesue2]

We found ours at Wal Mart ::

[doctormom]

Looking at amazon.com there are several of 20' hoses in the $10-20 range. That might be an option, assuming they will deliver before you do!

I personally would not use a garden hose, and I tell DS not to drink from the hose, again because of the lead issue.

[ccohenou]

The contamination issue might be more significant since you will probably be running very hot water through the hose, instead of cold as with the swimming pool. Just like you shouldn't drink or cook with hot running water, esp. in an old house, but cold is okay.

[Peppamint]

I made my semi-annual trek to Big Lots earlier this week looking for organic food marked down and happened to go up the aisle with hoses. I did see RV hoses though I didn't pay attention to the price. They might be cheaper there.