Do you have to close the faucet when the laundry machine is not in use

jilou

do you have to close the fawcet when the laundry machine is not in use?

Scuba_Dave

You don't have to, but a lot of people do

AllanJ

High ranking in the kinds of insurance claims seen frequently is flooding from washing machine hoses that suddenly burst or broke off of their end couplings.

__________________
The disadvantages of crab apple trees. In summer, the apples are too sour to pick and eat. In winter the birds come and leave dropping all over the place.

Yoyizit

Even with the braided exterior? I'd hoped they fail gracefully.

Jim F

The consesnusis that it is a good idea even with braided cable hoses. Now if I could just get my wife and kids to do it. There are inline valve options available but heard they carry their share of issues too.

Red Squirrel

I always hear mixed feelings on this.

No: Because the valves arn't meant for constant use, and will wear out fast, and may fail
Yes: Because the hoses can fail

Personally, I just use the heavier duty braided hoses, and use teflon tape on both ends and torque them on with a wrench, not TOO tight, but tighter then what I can do with my hand. Been in this house for almost a year, so far so good, not a single leak.

Guess if you want to really play it safe, you could get two high quality ball valves that are rated for heavy on/off use. At least I'm pretty sure those will be better... I'm not an expert.

Oh and use two water hammer arrestors, it really helps keep the hammering down. Some washing machines like to turn water on/off instead of gradually adjusting it, to get the right temp.

HooKooDooKu

I'm going to say that it depends upon where you live.

My first inclination is to say washing machines are designed such that the valves suppling water to the machine are always left open. The reason I say that is because every laundry room I've ever seen has the location of the valves such that it is NOT convienient to shut the water off when the machine is not in use. For starters, the valves are almost always behind the washing machine (so you have to reach OVER the machine at least). Additionally, many times the valves are installed at a height that is lower than the top of the control panel of the machine. Finally, the valves themselves are usually the multi-turn type (i.e. it takes many twists to open/close them like a typical garden hose spicot).

So I figured the real answer was to look up some product literature. The 1st manufacturer that came to mind was Whirlpool, so I found an instruction manual for a whirlpool washing machine. Low-and-behold, the instruction manul indicated that not only should the water be shut off when the machine is not in use, but it should also be unplugged. But then I realized I was also on a uk web site. So I specifically went to www.whirlpool.com and downloaded the instruction manual for the model number of the 1st washing machine I could find a www.lowes.com. This instruction manual did NOT say or suggest that the water should be shut-off between uses nor did it suggest that the machine be unplugged. However, it DID suggest that hoses be replaced ever 5 years to avoid bursting from fatige.

Yoyizit

I gotta' say, you are logical.

My one-time officemate did a brake job. The factory manual said to use a 'double flaring tool', so he did.
He called 10 places [on company time] that do brake jobs.
3 out of 10 used the tool, the remainder didn't, and each one plausibly justified their shop practice.
So my officemate asked me, "How can this be?"

If I recall, my answer was along the lines of
-the people who write factory manuals are afraid of lawsuits
-I don't see cars all along the shoulder with bad brakes so I can't judge how much more reliability
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-risk_bias
using this special tool gets you.

I'm praying for a graceful failure with these hoses. With timing chains, I replace them at the recommended interval if I have an interference engine.
Almost all of my enemies are dead [and I was elsewhere when they died, except for one] so sometimes prayer works!

"Origin:
1720–30; < L alibī (adv.): in or at another place"