What makes a good "drinking water safe" hose?

There a lot of options and brands that offer drinking water safe hoses–also known as white hoses–for use with an Airstream or other RV. We've used dozens of them over the years and sadly found that the bulk of them are terrible.

By "terrible," we mean they made our drinking water taste bad, developed pinhole leaks or full-on bursts, were heavy and bulky and constantly kinked, became stiff or even solid in cold weather conditions, we couldn't fit them in an exterior compartment, and the fittings leaked after only a short time.

If you've been frustrated or flummoxed by any of these annoyances and are looking for a good quality drinking water hose, here's how to separate the good from the bad.

Material Matters

The most important criteria for drinking water hose material is that it not leach toxic chemicals into the water, and that it is light-blocking so algae won't grow inside. Algae and chemicals can make something taste "off" in your water. We are not fans of this. 

Many drinking water hoses are made of poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), commonly called "vinyl", because it's cheap to produce. If you've noticed an odd plastic taste, that's why. This taste is particularly common in summer when the hose is lying in the sun. The water inside leaches more chemicals from the hose when it's hot. (Sun exposure also means more  light gets through, causing algae to grow. Yum.)

Here's a dirty little secret about vinyl hoses: Even if they are "drinking water safe", they may still leach phthalates. Those chemicals are endocrine disruptors (meaning they mess with your hormones) and have recently been implicated in heart disease too.

If you travel with a vinyl hose, run it for a few minutes to flush it out before you drink the water from it.

A better material for constructing a drinking water hose is virgin polyurethane, which contains no lead, phthalates, BPA, or PVC and is safe for use with hot water. Our RV Water Hose is made from this material, which is why it won't leach toxins.

Durability Matters

While the initial purchase price of a drinking water hose is low (i.e., $35), you'll end replacing it every few years because it simply won't hold up.

The most common problem is leaks.

For example, a cheap RV vinyl hose won't last long when it is dragged across the ground repeatedly in campgrounds, and will likely rupture if it gets run over by your tow vehicle while it's pressurized. Eventually the sun or the earth will cause cheap hoses to start leaking.

If you’ve ever tried a roll-up fabric hose you know they’re even worse. With just normal use and abrasion on the ground they’ll quickly develop pinhole leaks like a sprinkler. 

Also, vinyl often kinks, causing bulges (like an aneurysm) that eventually burst. Sometimes people try to avoid this problem by using a water pressure regulator on the end of the hose. But that’s just an extra expense to protect a disposable product. Seems counterintuitive to us.

The best material is virgin polyurethane, which won't leach chemicals and is extremely durable. It costs more, of course, but you get what you pay for.

Bottom line: Buy a cheap hose and you'll probably replace it every 2-3 years. So, over 10 years, that means a $35 hose actually will cost you $105 - $140, and even more if you have to add a pressure regulator to protect it.

Cheap Price = Cheap Fittings

Don't overlook the quality of a drinking water hose's fittings. There are four general types:

• Plastic. The worst choice. These crack or leak quickly.
• Aluminum. Not a great choice. Aluminum is soft so the fittings eventually bend out of shape from repeated screwing on and off the hose bib. The result is leaks you can’t stop.
• Brass. Caution. Brass is traditional because it’s durable and non-corrosive, but brass has contained lead in the past. Drinking water safe hoses must use lead-free brass. Read the label to be sure.
• Lead-free brass with with nickel or chrome plating. The "gold standard" for durability and appearance. A good quality hose will be made with these fittings.

The way the fittings are attached is also very important. Cheaper hoses tend to fail at this point. Look for a really good "strain reliefs" at the hose ends that reinforce the fitting-to-hose connection. Here's an example of what good strain reliefs look like: 

The Wrestling Match

Personally, when it’s chilly outside I don’t want to be wrestling to coil up the water hose. That’s why I like hoses that stay flexible in all temperatures and that will not kink.

This is another way that vinyl hoses really fail you, because they like to fight back, kink easily and often stay kinked permanently. Plus, they're heavy and take up a lot of space in your storage compartment.

Bottom line: The best bet for most RV owners is a drinking water hose that stays flexible, doesn't kink and won't be damaged by freezing, even if it's full of water. Polyurethane hoses win on all accounts.

Our Recommendation

After many years of camping and trying every type of hose imaginable, I’ve become a big fan of this RV Water Hose. This hose is awesome because it never “forgets” how to coil back up. You can stretch it out until it is entirely straight, and it will spring right back to its original shape afterward.

It's much lighter and packs smaller than traditional hoses, so you can carry a longer hose with less weight and bulk. It also won't be damaged by freezing, sun, or high water pressure. In fact, it can withstand pressure up to 375 psi.

Funny story: We stayed at an RV park in New Mexico a few years ago. The office staff warned us about the very high water pressure in the campground and tried to get us to buy a water pressure regulator from their store. We politely declined, telling them our hose could easily handle high pressure. Just after we set up camp, the office manager came by in a golf cart to again warn us again about the high water pressure and get us to buy a water pressure regulator from their store. Again, we told him we didn't need it.

And we didn't. We left the RV park with our RV Water Hose unharmed. Years later, and many "high pressure" campgrounds, it's still perfect.

That’s why it's the only drinking water hose we sell, and we back it up with a 5 Year “No Hassle” Replacement Warranty.

Full disclosure: We've had two warranty returns in the 7 years we've sold this product. Upon inspection, one of them was filled with charcoal from the customer's in-line charcoal filter. It made a huge mess in our yard, but once we rinsed out all the charcoal granules the water hose worked perfectly. We sent the customer a replacement hose anyway, with a friendly note about replacing his filter.

The other was truly a manufacturing defect. Of course, we sent a free replacement.

Why is it so skinny?

You might be wondering why our RV Water Hose is narrower than most others on the market. (Ours is 3/8″ inside, versus 5/8″ in most hoses.) It's because the 3/8″ size coils up better and is easier to handle – without a significant change to flow rate.

Sometimes people will think that a hose has to be big in order to get good water flow, but this isn’t true in this case. All of the plumbing in your Airstream is 1/2″ diameter and the fixtures are designed for a maximum flow of 2.5 gallons per minute. Our 3/8″ RV Water Hose can deliver nearly 5 gallons per minute, so it's still more than you need.