You spend a lot of time and money on your garden, and you want it to look its best. Depending on your water quality, that might mean you need filter hose water for the best results. Your tap water may contain chemicals that could harm your plants and hinder their growth.
So, if you want to enjoy beautiful flowers and healthy homegrown food, it’s high time you get an in-line garden hose water filter.
To help you find the best one for your needs, I researched the most popular garden hose water filters and ranked them according to performance and quality. Here’s what I found.
1. Waterdrop Garden Hose Filter With Flexible Hose Protector: 9.70/10
- Well made, with multiple certifications
- $25.99
The Waterdrop garden hose filter takes the lead due to its high-performance filtration, attributed to a combination of ion exchange resin, carbon filter, and KDF media. It is NSF certified for chlorine removal. It also comes with a one-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
Unlike typical garden hose filters, the Waterdrop model uses a combination of three types of filtration technologies. It uses ion exchange resin, granular carbon filter, and KDF media to remove pollutants like heavy metals and sediment, in addition to chlorine. This arrangement of filtration media also inhibits bacterial growth inside the filter.
Additionally, the Waterdrop filter has a 5-micron rating, ensuring that no particle larger than 5 microns can pass through it. I like that the filter preserves essential elements like potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, which play a crucial role in promoting the healthy growth of plants.
Waterdrop’s garden hose filter is NSF/ANSI 42 and 372 certified for removing chlorine and improving the taste and smell of water. You can have the peace of mind knowing that no chlorine will seep into the ground and harm your plants.
A good thing about this water hose filter is that it comes with a flexible hose protector that prevents straining and kinking where the hose meets the faucet. This improves the durability of the unit. Considering it costs only $25.99, the build quality is quite decent.
This garden filter isn’t just ideal for watering plants, it’s also suitable for bathing your pets and filling the children’s swimming pool with complete peace of mind.
The Waterdrop garden hose filter is super easy to attach and is designed to last for over four months or 1350 gallons, which is quite decent for its price.
One wouldn’t anticipate a filter with a low price to include a warranty, but to my surprise, this filter comes with a one-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cons
The Waterdrop hose filter comes at an affordable price and effectively purifies your hose water, but its lifespan is relatively short. Despite its claim of lasting over four months, my personal experience revealed that its efficiency waned after two to three months.
Overall
The Waterdrop garden hose filter is NSF certified to kick out that chlorine smell from your water, and it does a solid job tackling other nasties like heavy metals, all while keeping the good minerals. Using it is a breeze, plus it’s built to last. Sure, it might only hang in there for around four months — tops — but honestly, for the price, it’s a pretty good deal. Grab one for yourself right here.
2. Poolpure Garden Hose: 8.50/10
- Long life
- $28.99
The Poolpure garden hose filter produces squeaky clean water, but, unfortunately, has a low flow rate and comes with no warranty. But if you need a garden filter on a budget, this is the best to go with.
Pros
The Poolpure uses an NSF-certified activated-carbon filter to banish chlorine, chloramine, pesticides, herbicides, calcium and magnesium, VOCs, trihalomethanes, and heavy metals from water. If you have hard water that leaves white spots on every washed surface, the Poolpure filter can help reduce the deposition of white film on washed surfaces, even your car.
Installation is a breeze, but if you face any hurdles, Poolpure has an accommodating customer service to fix you up.
Here’s a small tip: Right after installing, make sure you run the water for 30–40 seconds to wash any carbon residue off the inside of the filter. I didn’t read the manual correctly and ended up with black water all over my hydrangeas. (Don’t worry, it rinsed right off. Now if only I could banish the pesky aphids.)
Poolpure offers 8,000 gallons of clean and clear water, which is a good deal considering it costs only $28.99. Plus, I was happy to find out that it comes with a six-month money-back guarantee.
Cons
This filter has one major design flaw.
The water flowed perfectly the first time, but for some reason I kept losing the initial flow rate the rest of the times I used it. You may also face a lot of trouble with its flow rate and may be tempted to whack it several times during your watering session to regain normal pressure.
In addition to that, this filter will not make your water free of bacteria and viruses.
And it comes with no warranty.
Overall
The Poolpure is an affordable unit, and although it doesn’t make the water drinkable by removing bacteria and viruses, it still delivers clean water for gardening and washing cars.
Overall, it’s a good option if you can’t dish out a couple hundred dollars right now and need a cost-effective filter that does the work. Learn more about it here.
3. Aqua Crest Inline Hose Water Filter: 7.20/10
- No warranty or money-back guarantee
- $22.90
The Aqua Crest garden hose filter produces water free of contaminants that could harm your plants and offers a decent water capacity for three months. It’s also NSF certified to remove chlorine.
Pros
The Aqua Crest removes chlorine, sediment, rust, and other harmful compounds using a multistage filter made of a pre-sediment filter, natural carbon charcoal, and Kinetic Degradation Fluxion (KDF). It doesn’t matter if you’re on city water or a private well, this filter is a beast at dechlorinating your water or removing sediment, whatever you need.
Aqua Crest is NSF/ANSI 42 and 372 certified. Plus this filter is vigorously tested during its manufacturing to ensure great durability and firmness.
I like that its flexible hose can be rotated 360 degrees so you don’t have to worry about it leaking or cracking.
Aqua Crest provides 1350 gallons of fresh water, which lasts up to three months.
It took me only a few seconds to install this filter and only a few minutes to fill a 30-gallon bathtub due to its high flow rate.
Cons
I have a few problems with the Aqua Crest filter.
First, the filter life is not as impressive as the Poolpure and Waterdrop models. You’ll have to change it every three months or sooner if your water quality is extremely poor.
And second, this filter doesn’t come with a warranty, which is just disappointing.
Overall
The Aqua Crest grabs the third position because of its ability to make tap water squeaky clean and fresh. It made my plants greener and fresher just after a few weeks. I faced no leakage issues or flow rate fluctuations, which is more than I can say for the Poolpure.
Despite having no certifications or warranty, Aqua Crest provides a decent flow rate and effectively removes pollutants.
You can learn more about it here.
4. Woder WD-10K-Port Garden Hose Water Filter
The WQA-certified Woder water filter can filter about 10,000 gallons of water. This filter can remove heavy metals, chlorine, chloramine, VOCs, and other pollutants that give water a foul smell. It’s lightweight and can be easily carried and used on any outdoor faucet.
I particularly liked this filter’s stainless steel hose and faucet adapter. Most standard garden hose filters are made of flimsy plastic that cracks due to water pressure, but this filter will stand the test of time.
Although it can’t filter out microbial contamination, it can produce water that you can use to wash your pets, fill up the aquarium, and water your veggies. The selective filtration in this filter doesn’t remove essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, so unless you’re sure that your water is free of bacteria and heavy metals, you shouldn’t drink the filtered water.
Woder is only suited for municipal cold water. This water filter is not the right choice if you’re on well water or want to filter hot water.
Woder costs $98, which may make you balk considering its limitations, but it comes with a one-year warranty on all of its components and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Not at all bad.
5. Camco GardenPURE Carbon Water Hose Filter
If you’re looking for a filter specifically for your organic garden, fruits, and vegetables, the Camco garden hose filter may be what you need.
This filter uses KDF, granular activated carbon filter, and a 100-micron fiber barrier to remove dirt and other sediment, chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, and organic matter from water that could harm the growth of your plants or increase the risk of infestation.
The Garden PURE is especially good if you have hydro and aeroponic gardening systems in which the plant roots are directly submerged in water.
I had to place it at the sixth spot because this filter is only NSF/ANSI 372 certified, which means this filter components are made with less than 0.25% lead. This doesn’t prove anything about its cleaning efficiency.
The Camco filter works efficiently only if you keep the flow rate below 1 GPM. That can take you hours to water your garden. If you have the patience or time for that, then go for it. You may need to use a water pressure regulator with this one to keep the pressure below 60 PSI.
This filter costs $23 and lasts about four months.
6. LOVHO Sediment Filter
If your tap water contains dirt, debris, and sediment, you might consider getting a sediment filter to effectively remove solid particles. The LOVHO sediment filter is designed specifically for this purpose.
This is particularly useful if you live on a small farm or in a remote area and you’re on a private well. Additionally, it can be a valuable addition to your sprinkler system, preventing it from getting clogged with gravel.
Note that this filter is specifically intended for solid particles and won’t eliminate chlorine or heavy metals. It incorporates a 40-mesh screen with 40 openings per square inch to capture sediment.
Keep in mind that it’s priced at just $12.58, so don’t expect exceptional build quality or long-lasting durability. There may also be occasional issues with leakage after extended use.
To maintain its effectiveness, the filter needs regular cleaning, depending on the sediment levels in your water.
7. Clean Water Fun Garden Hose Filter
The Clean Water Fun filter, priced at $39, uses an activated carbon filter to take out chlorine, chloramine, pesticides, herbicides, and ammonia from your water. It claims to be tested by an unknown third party for its efficiency against chlorine, but I couldn’t find the name of the certifications, which is a little suspicious. However, the filtered water was clean and fresh.
This filter has a water capacity of about 10,000 gallons. Its body is made of durable polypropylene and it’s pretty easy to install and detach.
It’s at the last spot because when I was testing this water hose filter, it stopped working after filtering only 600 gallons, which is nowhere near the advertised 10,000-gallon capacity. I asked other customers if they faced similar issues and yes, most of the customers weren’t happy with its durability.
With no warranty and money-back guarantee, I think you can find a better filter in my list for this price.
Bottom Line
After four months of meticulous research, I can safely say that the Waterdrop garden hose filter takes the lead on all the factors that make a water hose filter the best on the market.
Waterdrop uses ion exchange resin, granular activated carbon, and KDF media to knock out chlorine, heavy metals and sediments from water, making it so healthy that you can even bathe your pets in it. You can use it safely in your ponds, aquariums, backyards, RVs, trucks, and swimming pools, as well as your trees, vegetables, and flowers.
What makes this system stand out is its certifications. Waterdrop is certified NSF/ANSI 42 and NSF/ANSI 372, proving all of its claims.
Waterdop filter lasts about 4 months. For $25.99, I’d say this is a pretty good option.
Also you’ll love this part: Waterdop provides a one-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
So, if you want your fruits and vegetables to grow big and juicy and safe, Waterdrop is the best option.
Methodology
I live in an area with old city pipes and I was sick of my garden looking drab and sad. I needed a hose filter and I was certain I wanted to have the best one.
You must be wondering how I performed my three-months-long research and ended up with this list of the best garden hose filters. So, I’ll walk you through the steps I took to analyze and review the most popular garden hose filters on the market.
Step 1: A big list of the most popular garden hose filters
The first step was fairly simple but took the good part of an hour. I needed a list of the most popular filters for garden hoses on the market, and for that, I scoured the internet and looked up websites such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Costco. I selected only the most popular filters with the highest number of sales.
To further enhance my list, I contacted family members and friends who loved gardening and had plants, aquariums, and ponds on their properties.
By the end of this step, I had a meaty list of 20 garden hose water filters. I then decided to watch Modern Family and call it a day.
Step 2: Online reviews of water filtration systems
To get a better insight into the garden hose filters I compiled the day before, I read online reviews and feedback left by users. I had to skim through hundreds of comments and carefully jot down the good and bad things about all the filters. Also, some reviews were clearly made up. So, I also had to weed out brands using fake reviews and shady tactics to lure customers.
My hard work didn’t go to waste. I was able to strike off five filters for garden hoses from my list. Those that had less than a three-star rating, fake reviews, unreliable systems, weak flow rates, and poor performance were gone. This left me with 15 filters.
Step 3: Product/service analysis
Many aspects, besides flow rate and filtration efficiency, make filters for garden hoses the best. Here are the questions that an average gardener asks before buying a garden hose filter:
- How efficiently does the water filter reduce chlorine and chloramine levels from city water?
- Does it remove chemicals like bisphenol A, phthalates, antimony, and lead that can leach out of plastic garden hoses?
- What is the quality of the filter casing? Will it snap in two pieces if I drop the hose?
- Is it safe if my kids decide to drink water directly from the garden hose one day?
- Which of these water filters has the longest life?
- How many gallons of water can this filter clean?
- Can my pet turtles survive in the water filtered by this unit?
- Is it suitable for my Koi pond?
- Does it easily fit into standard garden hose thread and other garden hose fittings?
Step 4: Interviews with real customers
I needed something more by which to judge the filters on my list before I tested them myself. And the best way to go about this was to talk to actual customers and discuss their experience with the filters.
For this job, I called my friend, Ken, to bring his car so we could meet the customers, who were kind enough to agree to talk to us. We conducted interviews, asked them questions, and listened to their experiences. This step helped me knock off five more filters. On the way back, we stopped at Ken’s favorite pizza place. A good Saturday, I must say!
Step 5: Interviews with the companies
At this point, I knew a lot about the filters on my list. So, I decided to contact the companies and directly ask about what was lacking in their products. After emailing the 10 brands on my list, I ran some errands, brought my kids back from school, and had a nice lunch.
During this time, five of them had responded, and some even asked if I wanted to jump on a call with their representatives. I cut out the brands that didn’t respond to me within 72 hours. And this left me with the top seven brands.
Step 6: Test drives
Now that I had the list of the seven best garden hose filters, I decided to give them the final ranking by buying them and testing them at home.
This process set me back $650. I tested the smell, taste, and color of the water the filters produced and analyzed how my houseplants, garden, and my pet turtles responded to the filtered water. I also judged the water pressure and the quality of the equipment.
This testing phase took almost two months, and by the end, I already knew which filter would take the first spot.
Step 7: Final ranking
It was finally time to give my filters the final ranking. And for this, I took out my whiteboard and an old marker and gave each filter the final score based on the following factors:
- Quality of the filtered water
- Flow rate
- Filtering capacity and life
- Certifications
- Durability of the filter casing
- Ease of installation
- Warranties
The Best Garden Hose Water Filter
The Waterdrop garden hose filter produces the cleanest and safest water out of the 20 water filters I tested.
The combination of GAC, KDF, and ion exchange works perfectly against dirt, chlorine, and heavy metals. This garden hose filter is perfect for homesteaders or anyone who wants clean water coming from their hose. Your kids and pets can even drink it and play in it safely. If you’re looking for a garden hose filter that makes your water safe and clean for your garden soil, plants, ponds, and pets, get yourself a Waterdrop garden hose filter today.
Curious about the different types of water filters? Explore additional resources to find the perfect filtration solution for your needs.
Question on the garden hose filters. Does tap water hurt plants? I have been using my city water on my flowers and veggies for years.
K.B. Millions of people use chlorinated tap water in the garden with no harm to the plants. I suppose if the water treatment plant boosted the chlorine really high it “could” have a negative outcome but I have never heard of it actually happening. That is because the act of spraying the water removes all or most of the chlorine. Also, as soon as the chlorine comes in contact with soil, the chlorine is neutralized. Chloramine is much more resistant to breakdown. But in tapwater the levels are normally too low to harm plants or the soil. The garden hose filters are actually based on water filters sold for RVs. I use one on my camper. The plastic filter cartridge typically contains activated carbon and KDF. The activated carbon removes organic odors and flavor (even though it is harmless). The KDF is great for neutralizing chlorine disinfectants, if that is a concern. If you need to fill up a kiddie pool and have chlorinated water, these filters will help with that. In our review page you’ll find basic filters like the Camco, which is well-known in the camping word. I would use that model for filtering hose water. Some of the other that were reviewed have small amounts of ion-exchange resin but the manufacturer’s don’t really explain what it is in the cartridge for. In most cases that “pinch” of resin looks good on a diagram but simply can’t work for more than a couple of gallons. If the cartridge contained water softening resin, it would only work for about three gallons of water, then it would be inactive. If you are going for a hose filter for small pools or even filling up a water garden with fish, you can’t go wrong with the Camco.