Replacing Washing Machine Hoses - Easy Steps To Prevent a Flood

5/12/2022 (Permalink)

Washing Machines cause massive damage and flooded basements

The most vulnerable parts of your washing machine are the hoses. Washers are typically sold with rubber hoses—but these hoses can burst with no warning, spewing hundreds of gallons of water in only one hour! Luckily, there’s a quick, easy and affordable way to prevent a flooding disaster from happening in your home.

Avoid a laundry room water disaster by replacing your washer's old rubber hoses with steel-jacketed ones that won’t split open. Buy hoses that are at least 60" long—that length will make it easier to move and service your washer.

• Remove the old hoses: Turn off your hot and cold water valves, unplug the washer’s electric cord, and remove the drain hose from the drain. Lay a towel down and use a stillson (pipe) wrench to remove the hot and cold hoses from the back of the washer and from the water supply.
• Clean the filter screens on the back of the washer with a brush.
• Install the new steel braided hoses: screw them on to the back of the washer with your fingers and then tighten with the wrench.
• Connect the new hoses to the water supply, matching hot and cold. Open the valves, check for leaks, reconnect the drain hose and plug the washer back in.

Tag the new hoses with the date you installed them. Then, check your hoses every six months and replace them once they are five years old.

Add Another Layer of Protection

Installing a plastic drip pan is another fairly simple way to avoid costly damage from a laundry room flood—in fact it’s required in second-floor laundry rooms. The pan sits under your washer and catches small leaks. Select a pan with a drain so that any water that collects can be diverted to a floor drain. You'll need a helper and perhaps a dolly to set the washer gently onto the pan so you don’t crack it.

Once the pan is in place, check it for accumulated water after each load of laundry.

If your home or business suffers a flood, call SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield today at (860)461-7194 for immediate water damage cleanup and restoration of your structure and property

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The team at SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield has specialized training and experience in water damage remediation, fire restoration services, natural disaster prevention, chemical cleanup, and natural disaster cleanup. Call SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield any time. Someone is available 24/7 for your emergencies.