SEATTLE — Garden hoses can help you cool off in hot weather, but they many also leak excessive lead into the water — especially after they’ve been lying out in the sun. 

A 2013 study by the non-profit Ecology Center revealed high lead levels in 50 percent of the new hoses tested. Water from one hose was 18 times higher than the safety level of 100 parts per million.

If you check your local garden supply store, you’ll even see warning labels and fine print that says: “Do not drink from this hose.”

And lead isn’t the only concern. The same study found many hoses contain chemicals called phthalates that were four times higher than the safety level for kids.

“You’re filling up your little kiddie pool right? Your little wading pool,” said Jeff Thomas. “And now you’re realizing, ‘Oh my goodness! What am I putting in there? You know, I’ve got my child in there.’ “

So eight years ago, Thomas and his wife Katrina decided to start their own garden hose company in McMinnville, Oregon. Today their hoses are in demand across the country because they’re made with polyurethane instead of vinyl. There’s no lead, no hormone-damaging phthalates or BPA. In fact, Thomas says his polyurethane hoses are drinking-water safe. 

“We drink out of the hose. We have our own garden. We like to be organic,” he said. “And we knew that other people like us have the same situation.”