. TL, DNR ; hyperbolic claims of the hose material, which is basically PVC ; contains high levels of phthalates toxic to hormonal function ; invaded by ineradicable black mold after few months of use ; unfriendly warranty, absolutely distrustful of the customers. UPDATE. By August 2023 none of the health risks have decreased, and remain a matter of concern. __ SOURCE. These hoses are made by an East-Asia plastics OEM company with facilities in both Taiwan and China, which has also been listed in the past as a buyer of recycled plastic scrap. They are sourced by the retail labeller Weems Industries Inc. (IA), doing business as Legacy Manufacturing Co., and sold under their Flexzilla brand label. MATERIAL. The hose material, described as a "hybrid polymer", has three layers. The polymer components are not disclosed, including those of the hose's innermost layer, which is touted as safe for water drinking. As described below, a Flexzilla hose analysis by a professional laboratory found in all three layers a high concentration of multiple additives used to make PVC flexible (phthalates), indicating the hose has large amounts of PVC in all layers. Thus, the hybrid polymer, which is no longer touted as a "premium" one, is just only a PVC compound, the most environmentally damaging plastic. WATER SAFETY. In general, a non-PVC hose is much less likely to contain toxic contaminants (such as heavy metals, flame retardants, or phthalates) than a PVC hose, particularly if the PVC were recycled. I could not find verifiable evidence supporting the sales pitch that these hoses are safe for water drinking. Neither the Legacy nor the Flexzilla website provide such an evidence at the time of writing. Despite that, when replying to a query about water potability on the Customer Q&A section, Legacy claims "the hose meets or exceeds the standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation" (amzn.to/2LCiKT6). That foundation is a testing/certifying group that took the name NSF International more than 30 years ago. At the time of this review, the NSF website does not list Flexzilla, Legacy, or Weems among those companies with NSF-certified products. Given that Legacy's claim could have meant that the hose was tested by a third party for compliance with NSF water standards, I further searched the Web for NSF/ANSI test reports of Flexzilla hoses over the last decade. I did not find any. Alas, what I found was the _Garden Hose Study 2016_ of the Ecology Center (MI), which tested many hoses including a 50-ft 5/8" Flexzilla, whose material is listed just as PVC. Multiple phthalates were found in all layers of the hose. Contrary to Legacy's touts of safety, the hose was rated "HIGH" for phthalates, and received the negative evaluation of a "high overall level of concern" [see my figure with these test results]. This is very bad news to those planning to use a Flexzilla garden hose for water drinking, watering vegetables, and, especially, letting children play with it. TOXICITY. Phthalates are chemicals used to soften the PVC's vinyl and make it flexible (plasticizers). These additives are soluble in water and do not bound to the vinyl, so they can easily leach from a PVC hose into the water of those drinking from it, in particular if the hose were heated up by the sun. Like BPA, which is also used in vinyl production, the absorbed phthalates can disrupt hormonal function, affecting children (both in utero and born) and adults. Finally, a decade after the 1999 EU's ban of phthalates, several phthalates were PROHIBITED in the US (15 US Code §2057c) above 0.1% in products for children under 3 years of age and in toys for children under 12, and some other phthalates were provisionally BANNED. Canada adopted similar restrictions in 2011. The reason for this prohibition is that a child's exposure to phthalates may increase risks of asthma, IQ/neurological disorders, and pubertal breast changes in both boys and girls. A 2018 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that BPA and phthalates put children’s health at risk. These endocrine-disrupting chemical represent a risk of male genital defects during fetal development, and testicular dysgenesis syndrome as well as reduced sperm counts in men. All products sold in California containing any of a number of phthalates --as well as other harmful substances-- must display the Proposition 65 Warning : "this product contains one or more chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm." Legacy's reaction to Q&A queries about phthalate presence in the hose has ranged from simply ignoring them, as for a 2014 query (amzn.to/3cbugD9), to answers bordering on fraudulence, as in its 2017 reply claiming that the Flexzilla hose is "phathalate [sic] free" (amzn.to/2D5xQjT), even though the Ecology Center study had already been published the year before. Given that phthalates leaching from the inner layer will mix with the water output flow, and those leaching from the outer layer will accumulate on the hose surface, it is left to one's imagination what is the exposure risk in the image Legacy shows here of a child drinking from a Flexzilla PVC hose held in his hand out in the sun. A number of notices of violation of the California Health & Safety Code have been filed against Weems or Legacy, or both, about the presence of toxic phthalates in their products. Despite Legacy's familiarity with the Prop-65 warning, it did not disclose it on its various Amazon webpages for a number of years. Finally, perhaps relenting to criticisms of its non-transparent practices, Legacy disclosed in 2021 it as a "Legal Disclaimer" above the Consumer Q&A section of this webpage. And it was sloppily done -- in 6/2021, the warning did not appear if the 100-ft hose were selected; in 7/2022, it did not appear for the 50-ft, 75-ft, and 100-ft hoses; and in 1/2023, it once more disappeared for the 100-ft hose. All length models of the hoses deserve the Prop-65 warning. BLACK MOLD. About 4 months after I attached the new hose to a reel (so it was kept dry off the grass or any other wet surface), it began to develop black mold. This is shown in one of my attached pictures,which was taken after rubbing the hose with a dry paper towel to remove dirt, and whose inset shows the same hose when it was installed. This fungal invasion is neither an isolated nor a rare case, as evidenced by the large number of reviews here complaining about it. Handling the moldy hose left sticky dark stains on my hand. Mold-invaded objects are a health risk ; black mold not only can produce a harmful mycotoxin (satratoxin G), capable of injuring olfactory sensory neurons in primates and other animals, but also release millions of tiny spores that become air- and water-borne, causing lung, ocular, and skin reactions in those sensitized to them. Plasticized PVC is susceptible to fungal attack since the additives can also serve as a nitrogen or carbon source ; at least for several plasticizers, mold can degrade and deteriorate the plastic, allowing the fungus to invade even further. Of course, mold development in the inner surface of the hose is a MAJOR water safety risk, and the hose needs to be flushed thoroughly to wash away mold flecks in the standing water inside. With a melamine sponge I could remove some surface mold stains or flecks, but not others or those deeper in the tube's wall or inside. Cleaning the surface does not remove the deeper fungal growth reaching inner layers, and is just a temporary cosmetic fix : the mold returned after I removed the hose from the spigot and kept it in the garage. This is shown in my third picture, taken some months after having removed the mold-invaded hose (the hose was hung in position for the sake of taking the picture). I contacted Legacy and spoke over the phone with a Tech Support agent, who told me, with the polite laconism recommended for legal cross-examinations, that the company does not deal with the mold invasion. After pressing the issue of health risks for my children, I was told "no mold was found in the inside of a moldy hose" Legacy claims to have cut open. Evidence of such a dissection or its results are not publicly available. In contrast, some reviews here show that mold indeed develops inside the hose. My opinion is that the company could hardly be more apathetic in relation to the potential health risk of these foreign made hoses that it sells. WARRANTY. Its terms are customer-unfriendly. A defective hose would be replaced if you : [a] fill a form online ; [b] cut off both ends of the hose ; [c] cut off its defective part ; [d] cutoff the print band "Flexzilla by Legacy 5/8" ID Type 150 PSI W" on the hose, along with the 4-digit number ; and [e] mail the cut pieces to Legacy at YOUR expense, along with [f] the proof of purchase and return mailing instructions. No warranty coverage is provided for the quite likely possibility of the aluminum fitting of the hose FUSING to the brass thread of typical house spigots due to galvanic corrosion. Also, according to the Legacy Tech Support, but not legally affirmed by judicial opinion, the black mold development is not covered by the warranty. Tough luck for customers who bought hoses that became Moldy Black, a color unlikely to be trademarked by Weems anytime soon. It is censurable that Legacy imitates the three legendary Japanese monkeys, albeit changing the proverb to SEE NO MOLD, HEAR NO MOLD, SPEAK NO MOLD, and it is fair to conclude that Legacy considers the mold development too frequent to be covered by its unfriendly penny-pinching warranty. __