Talked with a plumber about washer drain hoses and it messed with my head

I was at a supply house in Phoenix last Tuesday picking up a pump for a Samsung and this old plumber starts talking to me about drain hoses. He said he never uses the rubber ones that come with new washers because they fail after 2 years, always swaps to braided steel lines. I mean I've replaced probably 50 washers where the hose burst and flooded a floor, but I never thought about just swapping them out preemptively. It made me realize I've been treating symptoms instead of fixing the root issue on every single call. Has anyone else started swapping hoses as a standard part of install?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia3853d ago

Exactly what I started doing about 3 years ago after I pulled a washer out that had turned a laundry room into a swimming pool. Those rubber hoses are junk straight out of the box, especially in Phoenix where the hard water and heat just eat them up from the inside out. I buy braided stainless hoses by the case now from a plumbing supply house, and I swap them on every install even if the customer doesn't ask for it. Had one lady last month argue with me that her old hoses were fine, then her neighbor's line burst the very next week and flooded their garage. Now I just eat the cost when people refuse and add a note to the invoice that I recommended the upgrade and they declined it. Saved my butt more than once when a hose failed later and the customer tried to say I didn't check it.

veraramirez3d ago

Honestly, that neighbor's line bursting the very next week is wild. I can't believe the timing on that, like the universe was trying to prove a point to that lady you argued with. Ngl, that would have freaked me out so bad if I was the one who told her she was fine, and then that happened. Tbh, I probably would have just bought her the stainless hoses myself and swapped them out just to sleep better at night. That kind of bad luck feels almost planned, you know? I feel for you having to deal with customers who just won't listen even when the evidence is right in front of them.