★★★★★ 1
PVC hose with high PHTHALATES, quickly develops black MOLD
Style: Standard Grip, Size: 3ft, Color: Chartreuse, Style: Standard Grip, Size: 3ft, Color: Chartreuse
TL, DNR
; PVC hose from Taiwan with a high level of toxic phthalates
; invaded by ineradicable sticky black mold in a few months
; the aluminum fitting can fuse to brass spigots by corrosion
; an unfriendly warranty, utterly distrustful of their customers.
UPDATE. By early 2026 none of the health risks associated with this hose have decreased and remain a matter of high concern, particularly under the light of medical studies of phthalate toxicity.
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These are garden hoses produced by a company in Taiwan, which was listed in the past as a buyer of recycled plastic scrap. They are sourced by the marketer Weems Industries Inc. (IA), also doing business as Legacy Manufacturing Co., and sold under its Flexzilla brand.
MATERIAL.
The hyped "hybrid polymer" of Flexzilla hoses is just a plasticized polyvinyl chloride [PVC] compound. The hose consists of three layers. As described below, the analysis of a Flexzilla hose by a third-party professional lab discovered a high concentration of phthalate esters in all layers. Phthalates are toxic chemical additives widely used to make PVC flexible, and the lab finding indicates large amounts of PVC, even in the innermost layer touted as safe for water drinking.
WATER SAFETY.
In general, a PVC hose is much more likely to contain toxic contaminants (such as heavy metals, flame retardants, and phthalates) than a non-PVC hose, in particular when the PVC were recycled, and this is relevant to water safety. I did not find in the Legacy nor the Flexzilla website verifiable evidence supporting the PR pitch that the hoses are safe for water drinking. But in response to a 2017 customer query about water potability on the old Customer Q&A section --now later replaced by the 'ask Rufus' A-- Legacy claimed "the hose meets or exceeds the standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation" (amzn.to/2LCiKT6), which is a testing and certifying group that changed its name to NSF International more than 30 years ago.
Nonetheless, at the time of this review, the NSF website does not list Legacy, Weems, or Flexzilla among those with NSF-certified products. Since the Legacy's claim could have meant testing by another party for conformance to water health-effect standards, I further searched the Web for NSF/ANSI test reports of Flexzilla hoses. I did not find any. But what I found was the _Garden Hose Study 2016_ from the Ecology Center (MI), a 55-year-old independent organization that tested 200+ hoses, including a 50-ft 5/8" Flexzilla garden hose whose material is listed just as "PVC". Multiple phthalates were detected in all layers of the hose, so --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 such test results).
TOXICITY.
Phthalates are additives for softening the PVC's vinyl and making it flexible. They are soluble in water and not bound to the vinyl, so they can easily leach into the water or the surface of a PVC hose, quite particularly if the hose were heated up by the sun. Phthalates can break down and enter the body via contact with the skin, along with ingestion or inhalation, where they act as estrogen-like anti-androgens. Exposure to them has been linked to feminizing effects on males by acting as endocrine disruptors, being able to reduce testosterone levels and impact hormone-sensitive brain development. Medical research has linked phthalate exposure to reproductive problems (PMID: 32961939), breast cancers (PMID: 30995175), and cardiovascular disease (PMID: 37269565). In fact, a global study of April 2025 estimated that about 350K heart-disease deaths were caused in 2018 alone by one phthalate still in use for tubing and other flexible plastics, even though it has been reported to cause chronic inflammation of arteries including those in the heart. These and others phthalates are commonly present in numerous other products. Despite this, only seven of the many industrially produced phthalates are restricted in the US (15 US Code §2057c), but just in products for children under 3 years of age, and toys for under 12.
Be aware the current NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 standard does consider phthalates. This standard's purpose is to ensure that products and materials in contact with drinking water do not leach harmful contaminants into the water at unsafe levels, including phthalates. Further, all products sold in California containing any of a number of phthalates must display the Prop. 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", and Health & Safety Code notices of violation have been publicly filed against Legacy or Weems, or both, about phthalates in their products in that state. In spite of a clear familiarity with Prop. 65, Legacy did not disclose the warning on its Amazon webpages over several years. Further, Its reaction to queries about phthalates posted on the old Customer Q&A ranged from simply ignoring them, like a 2014 query (amzn.to/3cbugD9), to answers containing false claims that were never corrected, despite ample opportunity to do so, like its 2017 reply claiming the Flexzilla hose was "phathalate [sic] free" (amzn.to/2D5xQjT). Finally, perhaps relenting to criticism of non-transparent practices, in 2021 Legacy disclosed the Prop. 65 warning as a "Legal Disclaimer" above the Consumer Reviews section of this webpage. But even that 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 again disappeared for the 100-ft hose. All diameter and length models of Legacy hoses deserve the toxicity warning.
MOLD.
Legacy claims the hose's outer layer "resists [...] mold". Nonetheless, 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 developing black mold, first only on its surface but later deeper. One of my attached pictures (taken after rubbing the hose with a dry paper towel to remove dirt) shows the initial surface mold, while its inset shows the same hose at the time it was installed. Not long after that, handling the black-moldy hose left sticky dark stains on my hand. This fungal invasion is neither an isolated nor a rare case, as evidenced by the large number of reviews here complaining about it (or as a "sticky goo" when touched).
Mold-invaded objects are a potential health risk, and mold development in the hose's inner surface is a _major_ water safety risk. Black mold can produce highly potent mycotoxins, trichothecenes, which can reach harmful levels depending on fungal strain and growing conditions, and it can also release millions of tiny spores causing lung, ocular, and skin reactions in sensitized persons. Plasticized PVC is susceptible to fungal attack since the additives serve as a nitrogen or carbon source. The hose needs to be flushed thoroughly to wash away the mold flecks in the standing water inside. With a melamine sponge, I could remove some mold on the surface but not deeper in the tube's wall or inside -- surface cleaning is but a temporary cosmetic fix: the mold returned even after I removed the hose from the spigot and kept it in the garage. This is shown in my third photo, taken some months after having removed the moldy hose (which 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, reviews here show the mold can indeed develop inside the hose. My opinion is that the company could hardly be more apathetic in relation to the potential health risk of the hoses it sells.
WARRANTY.
Its terms are customer-unfriendly. A defective hose would be replaced if you: [1] fill a form online ; [2] cut off both ends of the hose ; [3] cut off its defective part ; [4] cutoff the print band "Flexzilla by Legacy 5/8" ID Type 150 PSI W" on the hose, along with the 4-digit number ; and [5] mail the cut pieces to Legacy at your expense, along with [6] the proof of purchase and return mailing instructions.
The hose has aluminum fittings, but no warranty coverage is provided for the highly likely possibility of the fitting _fusing_ to the brass thread of typical US house spigots due to galvanic corrosion. According to the Legacy's Tech Support, but not affirmed by judicial opinion, the mold development is not covered by the warranty -- tough luck for customers who bought hoses that became Moldy Black, a color quite 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 Legacy considers the development of mold too frequent to be covered by its unfriendly, penny-pinching warranty.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2017
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