We only drank from the hose on my grandparents farm as kids out and about... going into the house with farm clothes to reach for a glass from Grandma's cupboard would not have gone over well especially when all the cousins were together... her kitchen was spotless and no dairy/work clothes allowed.
Anyway... I'm thinking this was all long before Chinese/Imported hoses which is now about 90% from my quick unscientific survey...
Seems there are hundreds of hoses available in all sizes and prices...
What the testers found is high concentrations of recycled E-Waste in some imported hoses... guess it is one way to get rid of... I mean recycle... all the plastic trash.
In my one test the results were dramatic... literally overnight with a brand new hose... and repeated several weeks later when I used that hose again...
I now use a red rubber hose that is drinking water safe, 400 psi rated and very flexible... it also happens to be made in USA... picked it up at my local ACE with lifetime warranty... went yesterday to buy another and the sku now says made in China... hum???
Could be I got one of the old stock hoses... it was $35 for 50' where as the first hose was $29.95 but on sale for $19.95 and also 50'... and the hose ends look different.
Just thought it worth mentioning to see if others have had similar problems...
There have been proven cases of death from garden hose that was source for legionnaire disease... but hoses are often left laying around in any and all environments... so traced to hose doesn't mean the hose itself was the cause but only the source... but... that begs the question if the content of the hose is bad enough to kill plants why wouldn't it kill bacteria???
Gardener, 63, killed by his garden hose after inhaling deadly Legionnaires''' disease from stagnant water that had been baked by the sun
I often reminisce of simpler times...