Hi,
I hope someone out there can help me.
The connection where the washing machine water hose connects to the copper pipe keeps coming loose and leaking. I think is due to the fact that the washing machine vibrates against the pipe?
I tried using plumbing tape but it has just started to leak again after about 6 months.
Has anyone got any suggestions?
Many thanks,
Nick
Jubilee clip?
Strip of wood across floor to stop machine banging pipe ?
Change the pipe, £3:99 in Wickes.
You can buy replacement rubber washers that will improve the situation. The thread is not a seal - you need a rubber washer to seal between the FACE of the connections. I bought a pack of 6 from Homebase or somewhere.
If the machine is shaking then do not use strops of wood or similar - adjust the feet!
See Washing Machine Hose Washer:
Changing the washer doesn't always sort the problem, the size varies between manufacturers. I've changed washers & been called back several times because the leak has started again, so now I change the hose with 100% success rate..
Toolstation - 88p for washers, £1.42 for a new hose - hmmmm!
An extra washer sometimes "gets you out of trouble" as they say.
Fair enough - the principle being that the thread does not form part of the sealing. The seal relies on the face of the valve and the face in the hose having a good seal. Agreed?
Oh absolutely. The problem I have found is that the 'recess' thingy the washer sits in varies from hose to hose and washers vary from Wickes to Homebase.
If I change a washer & have to go back I've lost money on the job & reputation, so I play safe & change the hose. I 100% agree the thread has nothing to do with the seal.
IME the thread on the nut has a lot to do with the seal
...............only to pull the seal against the faces of the valve and the flange of the hose.
Can you explain if you feel it is different (we are speaking conventional washing machine hose I presume).
Well, yes, exactly. Often they're damaged due to over tightening or scale on the thread
I agree that they are often damaged - mainly due to a lack of understanding that there needs to be a good washer in place. Which leads to overtightening, which on a plastic fitting will lead to the nut splitting. (Seen it many times)
I draw a parallel with a compression fitting. No tape is needed on the thread as the thread only serves to compress the olive - which forms the seal. Tape would be futile as water could leak from the other side of the nut anyway.
I agree tape doesn't help the seal, but I use it because it acts as a lubricant and makes it easier to tighten the nut.
Agreed - so does a spray of white grease, copperslip or a smear of vaseline. Eases subsequent undoing as well. I always lubricate tap bodies after re-washering. They always undo really easily then - compared with the trouble some people have. Too much tape could burst a plastic nut.
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