Your Washing Machine Hoses could rupture today.
Some good friends of mine learned this lesson the hard way. They were away from home, a washing machine hose burst in the second floor laundry room, and fifteen thousand dollars later they now have a beautiful new bathroom below the laundry room. Because the old bathroom was completely wrecked.
Washing machines are attached to the water supply system with two hoses, one each for hot and cold water. They're similar to a garden hose, but about four feet long. New washers usually arrive at your house with new rubber hoses, and the installer hooks them up and you're ready to start washing.
Over the years the rubber slowly deteriorates. The water pressure in the hoses changes considerably depending on the flow. The hoses shake and vibrate with every spin cycle. Eventually they wear out.
Often the leak will begin as a drip, which won't be noticed because nobody ever looks behind the washing machine. A slow drip can cause almost as much damage as a burst pipe, but it takes longer.
Sometimes, as in my friends' case, a hose bursts and it's like having the faucet opened as far as it will go, water gushing over everything.
So what can you do to avoid this disaster? Buy and install reinforced washer hoses. They're available at hardware stores and home centers and appliance stores. If you own a pair of pliers you can install them yourself. Two reinforced hoses will cost about thirty dollars, which is cheap insurance.
Just turn off the water at the two faucets behind the washer, unscrew the hose fittings (you'll need the pliers to loosen them), remove the old hoses, and install the new ones. You may need to slide the washing machine away from the wall to access the hoses. There's a third larger hose that drains the washer - make sure that it is placed in the drain before you push the washer back into place.
Make sure that you tighten the hose connections on both ends of the hoses with your pliers. If the fittings drip, you've wasted your time and money.
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