Scorching Water Inside Garden Hoses Can Cause Second-Degree Burns, Public Officials Warn

It’s easy to think of a garden hose as a fun way to cool off during the hot summer, but the water inside of it could be even hotter than the temperature outside. One mom in Arizona only learned about this hazard after she accidentally sprayed that near-boiling water in her young son’s direction, unintentionally burning his body.

Dominique Woodger said she was filling up a kiddie pool two years ago for her nine-month-old son to play in when she accidentally sprayed the water at him. She said she had no idea that the water coming out of the hose was even hot at first. “I thought he was crying because he was mad,” Woodger said in an interview with Arizona TV station KNXV. “He hates when he gets sprayed in the face. I didn’t think it was burning him.”

It was 115 degrees outside that day, which meant that the water inside the hose could have been as high as 150 degrees — especially if it was exposed to direct sunlight for a long time. Almost instantly after being sprayed, Woodger’s child started developing blisters and his skin began peeling. Ultimately, he ended up suffering second degree burns on 30 percent of his body as a result of the burst of hot water.

“At those temperatures, something as short as a 10 or 30-second exposure can result in a second-degree burn,” said Capt. Larry Subervi of the Phoenix Fire Department.

Fortunately, the little boy was able to make a full recovery and is totally OK today. But considering the weather is starting to get warmer, public officials in Las Vegas are re-releasing the shocking photo of the boy’s burns as a fresh reminder to parents to always let water from a garden hose flow for a few minutes to cool before spraying it on people or animals.

Here in Las Vegas, a garden hose exposed to direct sunlight during summer can heat the water inside the hose (not flowing) to 130-140 degrees which can cause burns especially to children & animals. Let the water flow a few minutes to cool before spraying on people or animals. pic.twitter.com/FMkzEt27xl

— Las Vegas FireRescue (@LasVegasFD) June 4, 2018

“Just be careful,” Woodger advised other parents. “Touch it before you let your kids near it.”

h/t PopSugar

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