Question for everyone. I've noticed for years that some people will turn off their water valves when they are not using their washing machines and others will leave them on. Does it really matter? Is it better for the machine to turn off the valves or was this done because of fear of hoses leaking? My mother never turned hers off and I don't ever remember her having any problems. Just would like to know if I should or shouldn't be doing it.
Who turns off their water valves??
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My Mom has done it for decades and I've done it ever since I had my first washer--April 1978.
The valves for my wahser are readily accessible just above the control panel. I turn them off after a laundry day is over. I do this because of safety - I don't want my home to be flooded, even though the washer is on the first floor. It's in the middle of the home, on the same level as the rest of the rooms, and a flood would ruin a lot of varnished hardwood flooring in adjacent rooms. The washer does have stainless braided hoses, which is an extra measure of protection.
westytoploader
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I'm one of those who leaves the valves on, but since I have SS hoses I don't worry too much. When I was using rubber hoses, however, I always turned off the water to each machine after I was done.
There is a quick-cutoff ball valve located at the back of the shed, so just in case something does happen (i.e. a pipe bursts) I can go back there, climb over the agitators and shut off everything. I strongly suggest to anyone who plans to have a collection in the future include one of these in the plans.
There is a quick-cutoff ball valve located at the back of the shed, so just in case something does happen (i.e. a pipe bursts) I can go back there, climb over the agitators and shut off everything. I strongly suggest to anyone who plans to have a collection in the future include one of these in the plans.
brettsomers
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gandma, always after every wash. my mother, almost never in almost 30 years! g-mas westy DID manage to flood the floor while in use, once. moms maytags (and hoses) have been loyal. good thread topic!!
Nope. I don't know anybody local who does that.
Valves Off
I too turn the water off after each load. I have always done that and it is quite easy since I have a single-lever faucet.
Have done it for years....maybe from the teachings of my mother. Back then, she had regular faucets that needed to be hand-turned each time. Her washer also drained into one of those porcelain deep sided sinks(Frigidaire Rapiddry1000).
I too turn the water off after each load. I have always done that and it is quite easy since I have a single-lever faucet.
Have done it for years....maybe from the teachings of my mother. Back then, she had regular faucets that needed to be hand-turned each time. Her washer also drained into one of those porcelain deep sided sinks(Frigidaire Rapiddry1000).
One good reason
We ended up having to cut out our spigots and replace them entirely because we never turned ours off, and the water in Yuma was HARD.
Thus, they corroded open with moock and yitka, and were unable to be closed again (and even if you could close them, by that time, they leaked around the handle stem).
This is what we discovered, anyhow, when we actually NEEDED to turn the water off...
So, I figure it's good to exercise them at least periodically, before anything desperately bad happens... :-|
--Nate
We ended up having to cut out our spigots and replace them entirely because we never turned ours off, and the water in Yuma was HARD.
Thus, they corroded open with moock and yitka, and were unable to be closed again (and even if you could close them, by that time, they leaked around the handle stem).
This is what we discovered, anyhow, when we actually NEEDED to turn the water off...
So, I figure it's good to exercise them at least periodically, before anything desperately bad happens... :-|
--Nate
The faucets for my washer are built into the wall, but are not ordinary gate valves. They are of an o-ring design - perhaps similar to more modern seperate bathtub faucets. When I first moved in, and I shut off the hot water, it dripped a bit through the handle. Eventually I had to disassemble the faucet, and saw that hard water minerals/rust had damaged the o-ring. Now I agree that exercising the faucet regularly helps to prevent future problems with it. Were I to replumb the laundry closet I'd use ball valves instead, but for the time being these are just fine. They are connected to copper piping, so they are good for a while. Other plumbing the home is a hybrid of copper and steel. The steel is wearing out, and when I replace it with copper the shut off valves for the fixtures will be new style mini-ball valves, not the gate type which seem to crud up too fast.
retroroy4800
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Personally, nevuh evuh as the valves are on the floor behind the machine and my ummm, size makes it difficult. However as I thumb through my 1957 Duomatic instruction manual under the heading "Heres what you should do when your washday is over." Number one is: Turn off the Hot and cold water faucets as this relieves the pressure on the hoses
Grandma: always turned them off. (And never would leave the house with an appliance on.)
Mom: never (Her '64 LK had good quality hoses--never a problem in 25 years, even with very high water presure.)
ME: Off after each washday.
Exercising the faucets does help keep them clean, although you may have to tighten the packing nut occasionally.
I have personal knowlege of several hose failures and resulting floods. And see no point in risking it.
Mom: never (Her '64 LK had good quality hoses--never a problem in 25 years, even with very high water presure.)
ME: Off after each washday.
Exercising the faucets does help keep them clean, although you may have to tighten the packing nut occasionally.
I have personal knowlege of several hose failures and resulting floods. And see no point in risking it.
of course
I have the "Aqua-safe" system commonly used in Europe - the manufacturers guarantee no flooding, and pay for all damages if there is a leak...but my mom taught me that water is non-compressable. That means, the hoses are under enormous pressure.
I turn the water off, turn the washer back on briefly till the "water fail" light shows (for obvious reasons) and sleep well.
Every few months there is a story in the papers about a machine - failing and setting six stories of a building under water.
This is not paranoia, this is simple physics.
When I can't reach a handle, I use the SS-Neoprene hoses made in the 'States - and sold here at a premium.
I have the "Aqua-safe" system commonly used in Europe - the manufacturers guarantee no flooding, and pay for all damages if there is a leak...but my mom taught me that water is non-compressable. That means, the hoses are under enormous pressure.
I turn the water off, turn the washer back on briefly till the "water fail" light shows (for obvious reasons) and sleep well.
Every few months there is a story in the papers about a machine - failing and setting six stories of a building under water.
This is not paranoia, this is simple physics.
When I can't reach a handle, I use the SS-Neoprene hoses made in the 'States - and sold here at a premium.
I do,
sometimes. At the house, I never did, because they were faucet turn valves.
Here in the apartment, I do turn the water off-sometimes. When my landlord put in the hookups, I specifically asked him to put in the box with the single lever valve.
I always turn the water off when I know I am going to be gone longer than overnight.
I suppose I should replace the hoses, because they are original from 1997, and newer Whirlpool top loaders have on the lid directions something like: "We suggest that supply hoses be replaced every five years" Or something like that. However, my machine is a Maytag, and my previous Maytag went from 1978 to 1996 without new hoses.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
(PS- EXCELLENT question.)
sometimes. At the house, I never did, because they were faucet turn valves.
Here in the apartment, I do turn the water off-sometimes. When my landlord put in the hookups, I specifically asked him to put in the box with the single lever valve.
I always turn the water off when I know I am going to be gone longer than overnight.
I suppose I should replace the hoses, because they are original from 1997, and newer Whirlpool top loaders have on the lid directions something like: "We suggest that supply hoses be replaced every five years" Or something like that. However, my machine is a Maytag, and my previous Maytag went from 1978 to 1996 without new hoses.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
(PS- EXCELLENT question.)
ALWAYS
Washer hoses don't burst frequently, but when they do, they can cause huge damage. My Aunt had her laundry on the second floor of her home; one of the hoses burst one night while they were asleep and by the morning they were facing ripping up two wood floors, replacing a living room ceiling and professional cleanup charges. It cost them thousands of dollars.
My parents had our washer and dryer on the fourth floor of our home in NYC for sixteen years. I remember the GE technician telling my mother to make sure she turned off the faucets after every wash. After the first year they never bothered to close the valves and they "froze" open. We never had an incident and we were away from the house frequently and for long periods of time. If one of those hoses had ruptured at a bad time the damage would have involved four floors + a basement and I can't imagine what the cost would have been. This is especially odd because, in retrospect, my father was very paranoid about water damage from other sources.
I'm kind of surprised that by now no one has come-up with a preset house water automatic shut-off: if say, more than 200 gallons of water was measured in an uninterrupted flow at one time it would trip a shut off requiring a manual reset.
I take the warnings seriously; I had a single lever turn-off valve installed, I use it religiously, I buy the best pressure-resistant hoses and I change them as recommended. This is one homeowner's worry I don't mess with. Save Russian roulette for something fun.
Washer hoses don't burst frequently, but when they do, they can cause huge damage. My Aunt had her laundry on the second floor of her home; one of the hoses burst one night while they were asleep and by the morning they were facing ripping up two wood floors, replacing a living room ceiling and professional cleanup charges. It cost them thousands of dollars.
My parents had our washer and dryer on the fourth floor of our home in NYC for sixteen years. I remember the GE technician telling my mother to make sure she turned off the faucets after every wash. After the first year they never bothered to close the valves and they "froze" open. We never had an incident and we were away from the house frequently and for long periods of time. If one of those hoses had ruptured at a bad time the damage would have involved four floors + a basement and I can't imagine what the cost would have been. This is especially odd because, in retrospect, my father was very paranoid about water damage from other sources.
I'm kind of surprised that by now no one has come-up with a preset house water automatic shut-off: if say, more than 200 gallons of water was measured in an uninterrupted flow at one time it would trip a shut off requiring a manual reset.
I take the warnings seriously; I had a single lever turn-off valve installed, I use it religiously, I buy the best pressure-resistant hoses and I change them as recommended. This is one homeowner's worry I don't mess with. Save Russian roulette for something fun.
harvestgold
New member
Always
I also always turn off my water to my washing machines i was always told by a plumber to turn the water off when the washer is not in use just cause of the pressure thing.I feel better when they are off, one less thing to worry about when not at home water damage can be very expensive to repair
I also always turn off my water to my washing machines i was always told by a plumber to turn the water off when the washer is not in use just cause of the pressure thing.I feel better when they are off, one less thing to worry about when not at home water damage can be very expensive to repair
bobbyderegis
Well-known member
My mother has very poor water pressure, and she shuts off her Duo-cloze the second the Whirlpool is done. My grandmother has never shut hers off, and she still has the original hoses on the 1961 Maytag. (It's still the daily driver) I never shut mine off, nor did my other grandmother, but we have older Maytags. It seems the old Maytag hoses were nearly indestructible. (I hope I don't jinx myself!) My friend had a new Whirlpool, and in about a year there was a good size bulge on the hose near the valve connection. I pointed it out, and we changed the hoses. Come to think of it, why the hell was I looking behind her washer????????
Bobby in Boston
Bobby in Boston
I can think of better bulges to look at...
Ken, there are such devices. They aren't cheap, but they can be preset to let a certain amount of water flow through them over a period of time. After that they must be "blocked" by water pressure to reset. If the water pressure stay at atmospheric (a broken hose or valve) they never reset and stay turned off.
Hope that was not too badly expressed. They are common in Europe, I have seen them at mobile-home specialty stores in the US.
Since European and US fittings are the same, if you can't find one in the 'States, I'd be happy to send you a picture and data on on or two over hear.
Ken, there are such devices. They aren't cheap, but they can be preset to let a certain amount of water flow through them over a period of time. After that they must be "blocked" by water pressure to reset. If the water pressure stay at atmospheric (a broken hose or valve) they never reset and stay turned off.
Hope that was not too badly expressed. They are common in Europe, I have seen them at mobile-home specialty stores in the US.
Since European and US fittings are the same, if you can't find one in the 'States, I'd be happy to send you a picture and data on on or two over hear.
mayken4now
Well-known member
Old machines maybe, New machine-you better.
Steve
Steve
