Chemical Hoses for Soft Wash and Injection Systems

Garden hose on a bleach rig is a leak with a start date. Chemical hose is built to carry sodium hypochlorite, surfactants, and acids without swelling, cracking, or dumping mix on a customer's patio. Sun Brite Supply cuts clearbraid PVC and ag suction hose in sizes from 1/4" to 1.5", and if you are not sure what your rig needs, call 301-519-9274 and describe the setup.

Pick Chemical Hose by the Job It Does

A soft wash rig uses hose in three different roles, and each role wants a different size. Get the roles straight and the shopping list writes itself.

Draw lines feed a downstream injector or X-Jet from the chemical bucket. Here 1/4" and 3/8" clearbraid is the standard. The clear jacket earns its keep because you can watch the mix moving and spot a lost prime or an air bubble the second it happens instead of wondering why the wall is not turning white. Length matters more than people think. A longer draw line weakens injector pull, so keep it as short as the job allows and buy the 300 foot roll only to cut working lengths from, not to run in one piece.

Delivery lines carry mix from a 12 volt pump to the gun. Match the hose to the pump: 1/2" suits pumps up to about 4 GPM, and 5/8" or 3/4" keeps friction loss down on 5.5 and 7 GPM pumps so the pump is not fighting its own plumbing on a 100 foot roof lead. Braided PVC handles the 60 to 100 PSI these pumps produce with room to spare.

Suction lines pull water or mix from tanks. This is where clearbraid is the wrong answer, because a pump inlet under vacuum will flatten unreinforced hose and starve itself. Use helix-reinforced ag suction hose, 1" or 1.5", which holds its shape under draw. If your pump loses prime only at higher flow, a collapsing suction line is the first thing to check.

Why the Material Matters

SH attacks rubber compounds and most garden hose liners, and sunlight finishes the job from the outside. PVC polybraid resists both, which is why it is the working standard for soft wash plumbing. It is also cheap enough to treat as a consumable. Swap draw lines that have gone stiff, cloudy, or yellow, because aged hose cracks at the barb and usually picks a bad time to do it. Crews on the roof every week typically replace draw lines once or twice a season, and at these prices that is cheap insurance. Connect everything with proper hose barbs and stainless clamps, and put a strainer on the pickup end so grit never reaches the injector or pump.

Chemical Hose Sizes and Prices

Need an odd length or a size between these? Call the counter, we cut hose to order.

From the Field

The 4 foot draw line with the built-in detergent filter is one of the quiet best sellers in this collection, and the reason is simple. Injectors do not die of old age, they die of debris. A six dollar filtered line protects a forty dollar injector. The other lesson comes from the hose we replace: almost all of it fails at the connection, not mid-run. That means worn barbs and single-clamped joints, not bad hose. Double clamp anything that sees vibration and carry a few spare barbs in the truck. The fix takes two minutes when you have parts and ends the day when you do not.

Related Collections

• Soft wash systems and supplies
• Chemical injectors
• 12 volt pumps
• Hose barbs
• Chemical strainers
• Low pressure hose reels
• Roof cleaning chemicals
• House washing chemicals
• Buying local? Visit the Gaithersburg store and we will cut it while you wait

Frequently Asked Questions

What hose works with sodium hypochlorite?

Braided PVC, often called clearbraid or polybraid, handles SH, surfactants, and most soft wash chemicals. Rubber garden hose and standard pressure hose liners break down fast when bleach sits in them.

What diameter chemical hose do I need?

Use 1/4" or 3/8" for injector and X-Jet draw lines, 1/2" for delivery from pumps up to 4 GPM, 5/8" or 3/4" for 5.5 to 7 GPM pumps, and 1" or larger reinforced hose for tank suction.

What is the difference between clearbraid and suction hose?

Clearbraid is pressure-side hose with a fiber braid that resists bursting. Suction hose adds a rigid helix so vacuum cannot flatten it. Put clearbraid on the outlet side and helix hose on any pump inlet.

Why did my pump lose prime on a long suction run?

Unreinforced hose collapses under vacuum as flow rises, starving the pump. Air leaks at loose clamps do the same thing. Switch to helix suction hose and double clamp the joints.

How often should I replace chemical hose?

Replace it when it goes stiff, yellow, or cloudy, or when it cracks at the barbs. Full-time soft wash crews usually swap draw lines once or twice a season. The hose is cheap, the callback is not.

Can I run soft wash mix through my high pressure hose?

Downstreamed mix at roughly 1 percent SH passes through pressure hose without quick damage if you rinse afterward. Tank-strength roof mix should only ever run through dedicated chemical hose.