A hose in time saves nine

11/1/2019 (Permalink)

Have you ever noticed a little drip from your water heater or maybe a drip under the kitchen sink from a water supply line?  Then thinking, aw that’s nothing I’ll put a bowl or something else under it to catch the drips and deal with it later?  Delaying fixing that small drip could end up costing you big when that drip turns into a torrent because the supply line catastrophically fails and, to make matters worse, it happens 20 minutes after the last person left the house for the day.  A ½” supply line under 50 psi will put hundreds of gallons of water per hour into your home and cause widespread damage.  If it happens on an upper floor, in addition to damaged walls, flooring, furniture and contents, you may also have collapsed ceilings.  And to make matters worse, insurance may not cover it because of a lack of maintenance (remember the bucket under the sink)?  Replacing your supply lines every five to seven years, whether it looks like they need it or not, can save you a massive amount of future grief.  If you don’t or can’t do it yourself, call a plumber and have him replace all the supply lines in the house at one time.  The cost will be minimal compared to what it might be if you don’t. 

Note of interest:  The average age of failed washing machine supply hoses is 8.7 years and 75% of tank water heaters fail before they are 12 years old.