Gilmour 8 ply Flexogen Hose 5/8-Inch-by-50-Foot Green #10-58050

The warning for this hose is there because of California's Proposition 65. Proposition 65 limits exposure to chemicals that are identified by the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. These chemicals or elements may be naturally occurring or synthetic. Not all manufacturers are listing this specific warning, but those that sell their products in CA are required to. They all list whether or not the hose is safe to drink from.

ALL non-drinking water safe hoses carry two potential elements that put them into this category: brass (if they have brass fittings) and lead that leaches from the hose into the water.

The following is from an ABC News Report:
"Consumer Reports says the problem is that many hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride, which uses lead as a stabilizer. That lead can leach into the water." "In all, Consumer Reports checked 16 different hoses to see how much lead could leach into the water. Testers cut off two-foot sections, then the hose sections were filled with water and plugged. They went into an oven overnight to simulate a day out in the hot sun, and afterwards, chemists analyzed the water.

Consumer Reports' Jim Nanni says some had very high levels of lead, "In some of the hoses, we measured 10 to 100 times more lead than the government considers safe coming a faucet."

However, the hoses that were labeled safe to drink lived up to their claim, leaching only minuscule amounts of lead.

To be safe, Consumer Reports says before you drink from a hose, let it run for a minute or so. That will flush out any water that could have been contaminated by lead."

There are other reasons to not drink water from a hose as well, unless it is a hose labeled "drinking water safe." This type of hose is sold for the use on boats and campers.


Why I don't buy a cheap hose...   August 17, 2000
Jeff Thompson (Minneapolis, MN United States)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful

I'm an air conditioning technician, so I clean more than 500 air conditioners a year. When I got tired of using hoses that kinked, sprayed water over me from leaks in the hose or fittings, were difficult to reel or stow and had squashed, stamped-brass fittings which were hard to screw attachments to, I bought a Flexogen hose. Now I have a durable, leak-free hose which stands up to heavy daily use. It amazes me when I see how many homeowners have practically unusable hoses once the fittings have been run over in their driveway. This hose is (just a little more) money well-spent.


The second one I purchased! Only because.....   December 1, 2000
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
26 out of 30 found this review helpful

Well, this hose will be the last one you buy unless the guy who hooked it up to a power washer claims that a tile from your roof fell and snapped it in two! (It can handle 500 PSI, so who knows what those guys were doing! I know they power washed our roof and also destroyed half my plants...I was not happy let me tell you!)

Well, I had just purchased it a few months ago and it didn't get tied in knots. That is pretty normal with those fifteen dollar hoses you can find just about anywhere. Well, they are just annoying! So, after buying a cheap one and knowing better, I ordered this one again.

I am again a happy gardener. Yes, even in winter you need a garden hose. It has a nice all weather construction, special foamed inner layers and a glossy sealed cover. What I really like about this hose is the Flow Guard Plus collar. When the hose is fully extended, normal hoses will kink at the faucet as you yank on them to get over to that last flower bed. Well, this one will not kink since it has a nice collar on it.

Definately a good investment. Just don't let anyone borrow it!

~The Rebecca Review


hmmm, not the best hose in the world   July 13, 2006
B. E Jackson (Pennsylvania)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful

It's hard writing a review for this Flexogen garden hose because it has a couple big problems, but something else about it makes up for that one problem. Read on:

One thing you have to know- pretty much ANY garden hose you buy will tangle if you don't wrap it the right way. However, some hoses it won't matter if you don't do a good job wrapping it. Unfortunately, others (like this one) are sort of cheap and get knotted easily, so you DO have to take the time to wrap it correctly or else the hose will be damaged over time. I guess if you're not the type of person that wraps the hose when you're done with it (and just leave it sit in the yard) none of this will matter. But in my house we have to wrap the hoses.

This means, if you drag the hose across the yard, you might have to go back and straighten out the knots because knots WILL most likely happen. And they will happen in three or four different spots on the hose. To me that's a sign of a bad hose. If one knot occurs that's ok. More than one knot and the hose is bad.

However, the one thing that makes up for the knot problem is that I've NEVER had a problem with this hose squirting water where it shouldn't. You see, it's hard for me to say whether this Flexogen hose is bad or good. It has problems, but if you can deal with the knot problem you will have a good hose that will last a long time.

I'd say using it just to wash your car isn't a bad idea, but dragging the hose across the yard to rinse off things (and water the garden) IS a bad idea because the knots will continue to occur, so you'll have to keep walking all the way back to where the hose begins to straighten it out. If you think that's not a problem go ahead and get one.