This is a shocker

That rush of cold water and bulging cheeks

Do you remember the carefree days of your youth 1950s-70s? Running around the backyard screaming with delight with the garden hose, spraying everybody whether they wanted it or not, shoving the end in your mouth for that refreshing rush of cold water on a sweltering hot day?

Don’t do it!

At least, not before you’ve read this:

What’s in your Garden Hose?

It is the perfect time of year for this question and you may be surprised to know that many water hoses are very toxic!

That being said, there are many good garden hoses on the market that are lead free and phthalates free, as for BPA free, stick to natural rubber or 100% FDA & NSF Grade Virgin Polyurethane Materials

First let me give you a little info to use when buying any gardening products.

The Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, MI tested 179 kinds of garden products, including garden hoses, tools, gloves and kneeling pads.  They found 70% of the products contained levels of “high concern” of one or more toxic substances… including lead, cadmium and mercury.

From the report:

• 30% of all products contained over 100 ppm lead in one or more component. 100 ppm is the Consumer Product Safety Commission Standard (CPSC) for lead in children’ products.
• 100% of the garden hoses sampled for phthalates contained four phthalate plasticizers which are currently banned in children’s products.
• Two water hoses contained the flame retardant 2,3,4,5-tetrabromo-bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (TBPH).

So you can see that there are reasons for concern.

Avoid hoses with this label

Read the labels: Avoid hoses with a California Prop 65 warning that says “this product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm.”

Buy hoses that are “drinking water safe” and “lead-free.”

Reblogged from: GoGreenAmerica There’s a little more and some brands that are okay.