As far as I know, every garden hose is marked that it is not safe to drink out of. They've been that way for decades.

You can purchase potable water hoses. Every one I've ever seen has been white. They are made for use with RV's. They are slightly more expensive, but not too much more. It's worth a couple of dollars for peace of mind.

Me, I use regular old garden hoses. I run the water through for a minute before I use the water, to clean out any water that might have been sitting inside the hoses.

Thanks for the info. But I'm wondering, then, if ALL garden hoses are unsafe for drinking--and remember, THIS one also says to wash your hands after using it!--what have people [other than me] been using to fill up their birdbaths, ponds, and so on? I've never known ANYONE who used anything but an ordinary garden hose--so have we all been poisoning birds, fish and other wildlife all these decades?

Just think if the label did not warn about something in this day and age someone some where would sue because the warning is there. Most have lost any grip they ever had on common sense. Look at most items that you purchase and they have some sort of warning like the knives that warn about sharp edges. I am just surprised that it does not have a warning about the tripping effect hoses seem to have when you step on them. May be there now but was not.

Water every where picks up lead from the rocks in the ground as most rocks have lead somewhere in their combined chemical makeup. Which is why I get a laugh when I see an article about lead in the water or soil in a known lead mining area like northern Illinois.

Hello,
Thanks for sharing the information.Like you i nerver would have read the small characters.I will soon replace my old hose for a potable one.
Anna

I can't comment on your hose, but the California warnings are everywhere. We just got back from Disneyland and there was a warning as we drove into the Grand California Hotel - the newest one. Where was the hose manufactured? I've seen the Californing warning, (contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm."), but wash your hands?? What kind of hose material is it that is unsafe to handle? I mean realy, are you supposed to wear protective gear to water the lawn? Let us know what Black and Decker says.

Ask them if it's safe to water vegetables with this stupid hose.
Cathy

Did you get a response from B&D? Would love to hear what they had to say. Gosh, we drank from the hose all the time when we were kids back in the 50s-60s...hmmm...well, I guess that could explain a lot-ha.

Something important to keep in mind is dosage. I don't know if the California warnings include reasonable safe dosages of an otherwise harmful substance. Studies show that coffee can cause cancer or other reproductive harm if you drink enough of it (though you'll probably die from electrolyte imbalance first).

Chances are that all the things you wet with that hose are just as they would be had you used a potable water hose. The amount of dangerous substance leaching into the water was not enough to noticeably reduce the mass of the hose so the dosage was small, the amount was diluted by lots of water, the amount you sprayed on plants would be diluted by rain water and other plant compounds, and any animals that would have used it come complete with a liver. The liver takes care of minor run-ins with hazardous substances and your body is big enough to allow some accumulation of a substance before it has any effect.

Now, I find that label on the hose too creepy to keep using it and the fact that they hid it I think would help you return it for a refund.

I personally would replace the hose but I also wouldn't worry much that I had caused damage. The chemicals released from your stress will be far more damaging than what has come from that hose so far. Just don't burn it, compost it, expose it to chemicals, leave it in the sun, or bury it.

I just opened my hose yesterday and saw this warning as well. The hose is made in China, surprise, surprise.

The warning is there because of California law and the PVC that is in the hose. Practically everything in your house that requires rubber-like flexibility (extension cords, power cords) has PVC. This too is according to B&D who spins the exposure to PVC from extension cords, etc. as the same as using their hose. I kinda doubt that. One can choose to believe that or not. One alternative to PVC hoses is to use natural rubber hoses, or according to this article (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3369894&page=1) use a hose made for RV's which is vinyl.

I believe that somewhere between the assurances of B&D and the near paranoia of the ABC article lies the truth probably. Since the ABC article is from '07 I'm just going to hope that flushing the hose before use will be adequate enough, (brass fittings and all) and that the re-formulation of the PVC content of present day hoses has improved things.

I live in a house that was built in 1891 that had cars that burned leaded gas driving by for x-number of years before unleaded, plus the general fallout that occurs from living in a big city like Chicago has probably done a number on the soil here anyway. I've amended the soil with topsoil and manure so if toxicity existed, then I've certainly diluted it. It's too bad that hoses have the potential to leech lead into the water. There are also many sites that discuss this as one has only to search for PVC, lead, hoses, etc to find more info.

i just opened my B&D hose that has the lead warning. If the warning was on the front of the package I NEVER would have purchased it. Good God!!!!!!! PS, lead does not degrade! It stays lead for billions of years.