Anyone know how to shut these valves off for a washer swap?

Those valves get seized up all the time beacuse they just sit there for years without being moved. If you've got a single lever in the middle of the outlet box, it ussually requires a firm 90-degree turn. Sometimes they're designed to be pushed down or pulled up, but most modern ones are quarter-turn ball valves. Some older recessed models acutally use a small Allen wrench or a specific key to turn the internal ball, though that's less common. If it's not moving, don't just muscle it with your bare hands or you might snap the plastic handle right off the stem.

Leave the **Sioux Chief Mini-Resters** alone for now. They're screwed onto the valve outlets and the hoses screw onto them. If you try to take those off while the main valves are open, you’re going to have a geyser in your laundry room. You need to get the actual shut-off valves closed first. If the handles are stuck, try using a pair of adjustable pliers to get a little more leverage on the base of the handle, but go slow. If it feels like the metal is going to twist or snap, stop immediatly. Since you're on a twenty-minute timer with the delivery guys, the safest bet is to just go find your **main water shut-off** for the whole house. It’s usually in the basement or a utility closet near where the main line comes in. Crank that closed, then go to a laundry sink or a kitchen tap and run it to bleed the pressure out of the lines. Once the pressure is gone, you can disconnect those old washer hoses without any drama even if the local valves are still stuck open.

Since you're replacing the machine anyway, it’s a good idea to swap those old arrestors out or at least check the gaskets. Those rubber seals get brittle over time and will often leak if you try to reuse them on a new set of hoses. If the laundry valves are truly seized, you'll eventually want to have a plumber swap out the whole outlet box so you don't have to kill the house water every time you need to move the machine.

I'm dealing with those same stuck handles right now. If I end up turning off the main water valve to the whole house, is there a trick to turning it back on so I don't blow out a seal somewhere else? I’ve heard horror stories about 'water hammer' when the air gets trapped.

Also, are those Mini-Rester things universal? I want to buy new ones before my delivery gets here, but I’m not sure if there are diffrent sizes for different brands of washers or if it's just a standard screw-on size for every laundry hookup.

The Mini-Resters are pretty much universal beacuse they use standard 3/4 inch garden hose threads, wich is what every washer in the US uses. Just make sure they have a fresh rubber washer inside so they don't drip. When you flip the house water back on, do it slowly. Open the main valve maybe a quarter of the way, then go to the highest faucet in the house or a utility sink and let the air hiss out til the stream is steady. That prevents the air shock from hitting your new appliance valves. And seriously, while you're at the store, grab some braided stainless hoses; those old rubber ones are ticking time bombs.

Make sure you have a bucket or a pile of old towels handy when you finally unscrew those hoses. Even with the water off, there’s always a decent amount of gross, leftover water trapped in the lines that’ll pour out the second you break the seal.

Also, since you're under the gun with the delivery, check your drain hose setup too. Most people forget to secure it properly with a zip tie or a clamp. You don't want that thing jumping out of the standpipe and flooding the floor the first time the new washer goes to drain.