Original hoses say replace after 5 years, its been about 7 now. Can I still use the hoses I bought in 2006? They are still in the original package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 years but figured it would be safer to check around.
, I purchased a package of braided hoses.
l package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 ye ars but figured it would be safer to check around.
Do they degrade even if in the bag? Yes, but at a fraction of the rate as if they were in use. Those hoses are probably
95%+ of what new ones would be.
purchased a package of braided hoses.
package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 years but figured it would be safer to check around.
Yes, they will deteriorate some. Over time, used or not, they will tend to become stiff and possibly brittle. If exposed to UV rays, faster than in the dark.
See how they feel when you take them out. If flexible and smooth, use them. If they show any signs of cracking as you uncoil them, toss them. Get a set of hoses with metal braid on them.
purchased a package of braided hoses.
package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 years but figured it would be safer to check around.
I'd tend to get rid of them too. Rubber oxidizes and degrades and as you say is accelerated by light and heat.
purchased a package of braided hoses.
The original hoses were not covered in braid, right? One of mine burst after about 10 or 15 years. You don't want to go through that.
The new braid is stainless steel? I have no experience but I suppose the rubber degrades. Still, I thought the real risk was not just a leak from old age but it bursting, like an aneurysm. The braid keeps the rubber from being stretched. I figure that's the bigger risk.
Has anyone ever had a hose with braided stainless steel burst?
(I should say that a little dribble comes out the bottom of my washer when I use it, and if I position one of the hoses in some special way or at some specific angle, I get a little dribble out of the brass end. But nothing from the rubber parts.
Definitely replace them, but I get it that your question is, With what?
package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 years but figured it would be safer to check around.
package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 years but figured it would be safer to check around.
if a burst hose can do serious damage, for instance a washer on a 2nd floor, i would replace them
I wouldn't hesitate to use them.
In fact, I don't even feel comfortable agreeing that the braided stainless steel hoses would deteriorate in storage. If these hoses have been stored in a dry area at relatively constant temperature, I don't see why they would deteriorate; even a little.
I know when you store chemicals, like pesticides and herbicides, the most critical things are UV light, constant room temperature or lower storage conditions and moisture. If you store a chemical out of the Sunlight, at constant room temperature or lower temperatures, and under dry conditions, it'll outlast it's "use before" date by an awful lot. I don't see why the same circumstances wouldn't apply to the plastic liner inside your hoses (except that I can't see why those hose liners would be affected by changes in humidity either).
I concur... the consequences of a ruptured hose are just to great.
Remember, with the hoses sitting empty, the inner liners (the rubber layer that actually interfaces with water in use) is also exposed to air and oxidation.
Rubber products begin deteriorating the moment they are 'cured' at the factory... some faster than others depending composition, quality and storage conditions. Judging by the price of washing machine hoses... I suspect most are near the low end of the scale.
I've never had a hose fail, but have seen the aftermath... I suggest buying the best hoses available, tagging them with the 'in service date', and replacing every 4 or 5 years. (You really should turn off the valves, and bleed off the pressure in the hoses when done doing laundry as well. But in reality, very few people do so.)
Erik
package and would assume that they wouldn't deteriorate that much in 7 years but figured it would be safer to check around.
It wouldn't have to be the 2nd floor either. I've had loads of leaks, all from different sources, and I caught them all within 90 minutes. But I could have been gone for 9 hours or 9 days.
To the OP, what the instructions that come with the washing machine say is to turn the water off at the faucets that feed those rubber hoses every time you finish your washing for the day. That way it won't leak when you're not home.
What percentage of people really do that?
Yes.
They're made of a rubber called EPDM, which is also used for car radiator and heater hoses and flat roofs, and it stands up very well to ozone and ultraviolet. But any type of rubber hose is damaged by the water inside because of electrolysis, which will form a hard crust inside. I don't think those hoses will deteriorate in storage, except at the metal crimps because any rubber or plastic gradually compresses or squeezes out, but I really doubt that will be a problem.
Regular rubber hoses supply hoses are molded with nylon reinforcement fabric inside them, but is the rubber in braided stainless steel hoses reinforced that way?
I worry about braided stainless hoses for faucet and toilet supply lines because they're made of just clear vinyl tubing, and vinyl does deteriorate from ozone.
Sorry, but the more I think about this, the more I'm convinced there would NO, NADA, ZILCH, ZERO deterioration of the rubber hose in storage. It should be as good today as the day it was purchased.
First off, no one uses real rubber tree sap for anything anymore. Almost all of the BLACK "rubber" we come across in our lives nowadays (but I'm not sure about car tires) is made of either neoprene or nitrile "rubber", both of which are synthetic rubbers ultimately made from crude oil. I've heard of polyurethane garden hoses, tho, but they're made in various colours, not just black.
Now, here's the kicker...
I still have nitrile rubber beveled washers in a paper bag that my father purchased over 50 years ago for repairs in a commercial building he built in Selkirk, Manitoba back in 1960. I hung on to those washers thinking I might need them for something, but never did. Now, these things are over 60 years old, but they're not rotting, they haven't turned hard, and exposure to the oxygen in the air has had no perceptible effect on them. Except for their shape, they still appear in every respect to be exactly the same as a brand new rubber washer would be. If those old washers have lost any of their elasticity, it's lost on me because they still appear to be perfectly usable.
Virtually all the rubber used in plumbing is nitrile rubber (formerly called "Buna-N" rubber). It is well recognized that EPDM rubber is actually more resistant to water than Nitrile rubber, and brand new faucets might come from the manufacturer with EPDM O-rings in them. However, since O-ring manufacturers don't know what their O-rings will be used for, and Nitrile rubber has excellent resistance to BOTH water and hydrocarbons like oils and greases, far more O-rings are made from nitrile rubber than any other synthetic rubber. Nitrile O-rings are produced by the millions and sold in every hardware store in the world, whereas you have to go to a place that specializes in pneumatic and hydraulic seals to buy an O-ring made of anything OTHER THAN nitrile rubber.
So, if there's a "rubber" liner inside those braided stainless steel washer supply hoses, it's either a nitrile rubber liner or an EPDM rubber liner. And, as stated before, I have old nitrile rubber beveled washers that haven't deteriorated to any perceptible extent as a result of 60 years exposure to air, and I expect this forum is full of guys that have old nitrile rubber plumbing parts they bought decades ago but never used that can confirm there's been no perceptible deterioration of that stuff either.
So, instead of saying that "I'm uncomfortable agreeing with the premise that the rubber would deteriorate.", I'm going to restate my position as "The rubber doesn't deteriorate to any perceptible extent during a normal human lifetime."
I agree. They will degrade whether used or stored, but they probably degrade an order of magnitude slower when stored. But it should be as you say, out of sunlight, etc.
But if someone is worried about it, why worry? They are cheap enough that they can buy new ones.
Sell them to high school students, so they can beat their teachers with a rubber hose.
They're cheap enough and easy enough to replace that they can be replaced whenever the unit is moved. I replace them if the washer (whatever) has been sitting there for a couple of years. It's a PITA if I get in there and *then* decide that it needs to be replaced.
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