Garden hose

There are a number of common attachments available for the end of the hose, such as sprayers and sprinklers (which are used to concentrate water at one point or to spread it over a large area).

Garden hoses are typically made of extruded synthetic rubber or soft plastic, often reinforced with an internal web of fibers.

As a result of these materials, garden hoses are flexible and their smooth exterior facilitates pulling them past trees, posts and other obstacles.

Instead, a pliable rubber or plastic gasket (often ambiguously called a "garden hose washer") seals the connection against leakage.

A variant of this gasket also incorporates a fine-meshed metal or plastic screen to filter out small particles of dirt that may be present in the flowing stream of water.

The purpose of this filter is to intercept debris which could otherwise clog the small openings used to disperse a spray of water from various garden sprayers and sprinklers.

The first plastic connector was invented in the UK by Hozelock in 1959,[6] and the style has now become a de facto standard throughout Europe and the wider world, compatible with and imitated by many other manufacturers.

In 2014, it was reported that use of common garden hoses in combination with spray nozzles may generate aerosols containing droplets smaller than 10 μm, which can be inhaled by nearby people.

Clinical cases of Legionnaires' disease or Pontiac fever have been found to be associated with inhalation of garden hose aerosols containing Legionella bacteria.

The report provided measured microbial densities resulting from controlled hose conditions in order to quantify the human health risks.