[WannaBeHandy]

I am not superhandy, as you might glean from my screen name, but there's a leak under our kitchen sink and I want to try and fix it.

It seems to be a pipe that drains the dishwasher. It's a small pipe—a 12" length stainless steel braid, the tag says. It's the s-shaped black one against the board in the back. You can see a drop about to drop.

We used the dishwasher last night and 18 hours, there is a drip, so I'm wondering if the dishwasher water is still draining?!

Is it hard to remove this pipe myself and replace it with a new one?

ANY guidance appreciated, thanks.

Ellen

 

[sixeightten]

You can definitely do that. Turn off the water at the shutoff you have there. Use a small crescent wrench or a box wrench to remove the line. Take it with you to the homecenter to match it up.

 

[WannaBeHandy]

SixEightTen, thanks again! That silver knob in the photo is really hard to turn... What can I do? Also, is it the dishwasher still draining, 18 hours later? That drip is driving me nuts.

 

[TheEplumber]

I'd take an extra minute and verify the leak location. Grab the hose up high and work your way down until you feel moisture. Its dripping at the lowest point and the leak may be higher up the hose.
How often you run the dishwasher has no bearing on the drip. That is a pressured supply line .Turn off the valve to stop or service the leak.
Are you sure thats not a supply line to the faucet? Kinda looks like one

 

[sixeightten]

That is a supply line. It is pressurized even when the dishwasher is not running. Put a rag over that little handle and it will give you a better grip to shut it off.

 

[TombstoneDW]

That's actually not the drain, but a supply hose (one end is likely hooked up to the copper pipe coming out of the wall). This is a fairly simple fix, which you should be able to do.

I've never seen one of these flex hoses leak, so I'd check to see where the actually source is. Take a piece of paper towel and dry the hose and the entire line, then run your dishwasher. This will force water through the intake, and you should be able to spot the rough location of the leak. Personally, I'd check the connection to the fixed-pipe, or anything above the hose. I'll assume that it is either the connection (on the dishwasher side) or the hose itself. Replacing the hose is inexpensive - should be about $3-5 from your local hardware store. If you're worried, turn off the water and disconnect the hose and take it with you to make sure you get the right piece. For extra piece of mind, you may also want to get plumber's tape that goes on the threading to provide an extra seal. It could also be a cracked washer in the hose.

Given the picture, it looks like the connection is BEHIND the shutoff (that silver oblong piece of plastic with the screw in the center). If this is the case, then you'll likely need to turn off the water at the main intake (usually in the basement, if your house has one). Once you've turned off the main supply line, open up some taps that are on the same level or preferably below your kitchen to let the pipes drain.

After shutting off the water, put a bucket under the hose and then take a wrench or a pair of pliers and disconnect the old hose. Next, take a piece of paper towel and clean the threads at both ends of the fixed pipe. If you bought the plumber's tape wrap a thin layer around the threading on both ends - 1 layer is typically enough, anything more than two is too much (in my experience). Take your new hose and attach it to the threaded parts. I'd hand-tighten both ends, and then take your wrench/pliers and give it a couple of quarter turns. You don't want to over-tighten the connections, but the pressure coming through requires a tight seal.

And that should be it. Fairly easy fix!

 

[TombstoneDW]

Wow - sorry, lots of responses while I was writing.

In terms of the silver piece (the shutoff) being hard to turn, that's typical. Those shutoffs are an older (and cheaper) design and are filled with issues (the plastic breaks, the screw gets stripped). Replacing it requires some plumbing skill (and tools) that you may not have. Go with the main shutoff to be certain.

As far as sixeightten's comment, he/she is right that it's always pressurized (which would explain the leak 18 hours later). I suggested running the dishwasher because the extra pressure from the waterflow should make the leak more apparent.

 

[WannaBeHandy]

Thanks to everyone for the fast and great advice, I am inspired to tackle this sucker! Still cannot move that knob. Will try to figure out where main shutoff is.

 

[plumberinlaw]

Thanks to everyone for the fast and great advice, I am inspired to tackle this sucker! Still cannot move that knob. Will try to figure out where main shutoff is.

Good idea everybody should know where and how to turn off their water and gas mains.:thumbsup:

 

[WannaBeHandy]

Success!

Voila! It really was easy, once I managed to unscrew the pipe. It turned out to be one connected to the faucet, not the dishwasher. Either way, it was just a pipe gone bad, and replacing it did the trick.

This board is amazing! Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement. I feel inspired to take on other DIY projects! Like installing a new furnace! Ha, ha, not that. YET.

Ellen

Oh, PS, where DOES one find their main gas connection? I now know the water one!