Hello guys!, I have a question about garden hoses and surfactants there is a lot of topics about it and most of you recommend Mean Green garden hoses but unfortunately I’m not able to get them in my country (Poland), also i wasn’t able to find any surfactants on Amazon or on polish websites, do you have any advice on what I should look out for when choosing garden hoses? Also do you know with what can i replace a professional surfactant or where to find one in Europe?
The brand name of the hose most of us use is Flexilla. Check on Amazon. As far a surfactant goes, you can always start with a liquid laundry detergent since most are bleach friendly.
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Hi @Atlantir
Likely stated elsewhere on here but just on the bleach thing - most washing-up liquids (e.g. Fairy) are pH neutral. It’s acid based cleaning products that are the ones which produce chlorine gas, so check the label or COSHH information before mixing.
Kewin
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Ok i thought that flexzilla is very expensive comparing to garden hoses in my country but as i can see professional garden hoses for 30M cost about 1.8K and flexzilla with shipping is about 700 so yeah i will probably take it if i won’t be able to find something like this but from my country.
What should I be aware of when looking at the COSHH/label (except do not mix with bleach) when looking out for a good laundry detergent as a surfactant?
Just get whatever garden/supply hose works for you in your area. Most vinyl hoses get really stiff as it gets colder so something to consider.
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Hi @Atlantir (Jakub),
Aware you’re in Poland so just for clarity I’m referring to the UK Health & Safety Executive requirement around Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH). Apologies if that’s slightly different in Poland 
HSE COSHH sheets are written in a standard format, two useful sections if you’re mixing chemicals:
- Section 9: Physical and Chemical Properties
- Section 10: Stability and Reactivity
The pH value should be in Section 9. A perfect Neutral pH is 7, lower is more acidic, higher is more alkaline. So log as the surfactant is more towards (but not too far towards) alkaline and not acidic you’re safe in terms of reacting with bleach.
Fairy Liquid has a pH of 9 according to the COSHH sheet linked below, so on the Alkaline side.
COSHH Sheet for Fairy Liquid
https://www.newhall.co.uk/media/7440_msds.pdf
Hope that helps,
Kewin.
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