Finally got the courage to shut off my old washer valves today

Glad yours held, but I learned the hard way to always locate the main water meter shutoff in the basement before even touching those old gate valves. When I pulled out my 15-year-old Maytag to run new stainless braided lines, the cold knob turned off nicely just like yours did. The problem came three hours later when I turned the water back on, and a steady drip started weeping past the valve stem.

Keep an adjustable wrench handy just in case—tightening down the packing nut behind the handle about a quarter-turn usally squishes the packing material enought to stop a slow leak. Still, defintely keep a flashlight on those valves for the next couple of days after you finish swapping hoses. Those internal neoprene washers dry out after sitting open for so long, and disturbing them is often when they decide to give up the ghost completley. When mine finally started dripping again a month later, I just bit the bullet and replaced the whole setup with a quarter-turn Oatey ball valve box.

Whenever I pull our washer back—we have an older front-load Whirlpool—I don't even like risking those old multi-turn valves anymore. Even when they seat and seem to hold, I always keep a pair of 3/4-inch brass hose caps with fresh rubber washers in my toolbox. Screwing those caps tightly onto the bibbs gives me peace of mind while the lines are off, so I'm not trusting a 20-year-old internal rubber washer to hold back 60 PSI while I go pick up parts.

After dealing with a crusty valve that seized up completly a couple of years ago, I ended up biting the bullet and cutting out the old recessed box entirely. Replaced it with an Oatey setup featuring quarter-turn ball valves. Flipping a single lever to shut off both hot and cold instantly beats spending twenty minutes gently coaxing rusted round handles and praying the stem doesn't shear off.

Oh man, I literally have to pull our washer out this weekend to do the exact same thing! Quick question though since you mentioned getting new hoses tomorrow—are you looking at those flood-stop hoses that automatically shut off if they burst, or just regular heavy-duty braided stainless? I keep hearing mixed things about the auto-shutoff valves tripping on normal quick-fill cycles and I'm super curious what you picked!

When you turn 'em back on tomorrow, do yourself a favor: crank them all the way open, then back them off a quarter turn. Old plumber showed me that trick back in the seventies. If you leave a multi-turn valve jammed hard against the stop, mineral scale locks the stem right in place and you're back to square one next decade. Giving it that little bit of breathing room keeps the threads from freezing up. Used to repack those stems with graphite string from the hardware bin whenever they wept, but keeping 'em off the backstop saves half the headache to begin with.

While you've got the lines off tomorrow, grab a pair of Sioux Chief 660-HB Mini-Rester hammer arrestors to thread right onto those bibbs before the new hoses go on. Modern washer solenoids—especally on newer LG WM4000 series or Speed Queen front-loaders—slam shut fast, and that violent hydraulic shock will rattle tired, crusty solder joints loose inside the wall quicker than you think.

Learned that the hard way in my last house when a cold-water elbow started seeping behind the drywall. Cheap insurance while you're allready back there.

Quick update — grabbed a pair of brass caps just in case, thanks for that tip! But looking at hoses now, has anyone acutally had issues with those flood-stop auto-shutoff lines tripping by accident on modern washers? Seeing alot of mixed reviews claiming quick-fill cycles trigger them, so I'm debating wether to stick with standard heavy-duty braided stainless instead.