should this soaker hose be used for my tomatoes?

[cassiani]

just bought that hose but without reading the package...
its says: warning this product contains one or more chemicals known to the state of california to cause cancer, birth defector other reproductive harm. Wash hand after handling. not approved for water drinking.
This is ridiculous for a company to put out such bad product.

Should it be used to water my garden? Do you think it's worst than eating at McDonalds or smoking cigarettes?

[Worth1]

About 99% of the hoses people use have this warning on them.
You cant sell anything in California without saying it might cause cancer or birth defects.
Who in their right mind would drink out of a soaker hose they are made out of recycled rubber.

Worth

[whistech]

I bought a second Presto pressure canner this year and it had a sticker on it that said the same exact thing. I'm betting that 99 percent of all items sold in Califonia have that same sticker. I personally am not worried.

[Jeannine Anne]

Most of the soakers are made from recycled tires

[habitat_gardener]

Yes, those notices are required in Calif. For a long time, balsamic vinegar has had warning signs. Recently I saw a notice at Trader Joe's that products made with ginger may contain lead. <--- yet another reason to avoid produce grown in China.

(But remember all those "flame-retardant" fabrics? Turns out it was a ploy by the cigarette manufacturers to deflect blame for house fires from their products. See the documentary Merchants of Doubt.)

[zeuspaul]

I agree the California warnings are meaningless. However I don't use water filtered through recycled rubber for my tomatoes or any other vegetable. If a neighbor gave me recycled rubber watered vegetables I would eat them.

There are better alternatives. I use poly drip line. One of the reasons is it introduces fewer contaminates.

[cassiani]

thanx a lot I'm pluggin' it tonight. have a good season =)

[Cole_Robbie]

If there is a road within sight of your garden, you have tire residue in your garden right now. Tires disintegrate slowly into dust as they travel over any road, and that rubber dust goes wherever the wind and water takes it.

A buried tire takes over 100 years to begin to decompose. People have been using them as planters for generations. A lot of playgrounds now have shredded tires as a ground covering.

If you are worried about toxic plastics in your life, soft rubber products are much worse. Inflatable pool toys and "new shower curtain smell" both come to mind. That smell when you first open the package is highly toxic.

[Jeannine Anne]

I have noticed recently that any black garments made with a stretch for example leggings have a tremendous strong smell that smells exactly like rubber.I have tried to find a connection to tires because I have a severe latex allergy and it concerns me very much. I ordered 6 pairs of black legging from Amazon, they went straight in the washing machine for a 2 hour wash, this was done about 6 times, one wash after the other but still the odor was there. I threw them away. The smell was identical to that of a tire shop.

[Worth1]

Latex is a natural product produced by many plants and is what the first rubber was made from.
Many people are allergic to it.
Lettuce even produces a latex.
Car tires are made from petroleum products like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styrene-butadiene.
Styrene by the way is what styrofoam/polystyrene cups are made from.
If some of you guys would ever see and be in a chemical plant where they make this stuff you would never buy it again.

Worth