It’s summertime! Remember when you were a kid? You would head out in the morning and spend the day with your friends. If you needed something to drink you would just drink right out of somebody’s water hose. There was just something about that garden hose water! For so many of us, drinking out of the water hose was one of the best highlights of the summer season! It was so cold and good!
It seems like when we share stories about water hose drinking these days, we’re usually met with a comment regarding people getting cancer from drinking water that way. So just how unsafe is drinking from the garden hose? Does it really cause cancer? Here are the facts.
It pains me to write this, but it seems that drinking from the water hose may not be the safest thing to do. Here’s what it contains:
·Antimony
·BPA (bisphenol A)
·Bromine
·Lead
·Organotin
·Phthalates
These materials are considered toxic. According to the FDA, some of the materials may cause issues on the brain, behavior and issues with prostate glands in fetuses, infants and young children. Studies have also shown that the lead levels in the hoses tested exceeded the safety limits. Additionally, in one particular study by the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, M.I., 100% of the hoses sampled contained several plasticizers that are actually banned in children’s products.
If you’re still determined to drink out of the water hose, the good news is that you would have to drink a pretty fair amount of affected garden hose water to see any negative health consequences. However, the Ecology Center warns that even low levels of lead may create health problems.
Drink at your own risk.