Showerthought: Used washing machine supply lines are a ticking time bomb

I was fixing a leaky washer for a customer in Oak Park last Tuesday, and when I pulled the machine out I found the rubber supply lines were original from like 2006. They had those little cracks near the brass fittings that you can't see unless you really look. I told the guy he needed new braided steel lines before they burst and flooded his basement. He said he'd think about it, and I just shook my head lol. Has anyone else had a call turn into a flood prevention talk out of nowhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_coleman1711h ago

Honestly, I get where you're coming from but I think the whole "ticking time bomb" thing is a bit overblown. Yeah, old rubber lines can crack, but I've seen plenty of 20 year old rubber hoses that were still fine and only got swapped because the machine died. The real issue is people not checking them at all, not the material itself. Ngl, braided steel is great and all but it's not bulletproof - I've seen those fail too from cheap manufacturing or being kinked. If you're really worried, just replace the rubber ones every 10 years and call it a day. But acting like every old hose is about to explode feels kind of fearmongery to me.

betty14410h ago

This whole debate reminds me of how people treat car tires or smoke detector batteries. Everyone knows they should check them, but most folks just wait until something goes wrong or a warning light comes on. It's like we'd rather deal with the aftermath than do a simple preventive check every now and then. The fearmongering label gets thrown around, but sometimes it's the only thing that actually gets people to pay attention before something fails.