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Avoiding serious water damage from a burst flexi hose
About Flexi Hoses
Flexible hoses, flexi hoses, or flexible connectors, came onto the Australian plumbing market around 30 years ago and have since become extremely popular. If you look under your kitchen sink, in your laundry, behind your toilet, or behind most plumbing fixtures, you will probably notice one or several of these features.
However, they are not without risks to your home. If not checked and maintained properly, you can end up with a burst flexi hose, leading to heavy flooding and damage to your home or workplace.
What is a flexi hose?
Flexible plumbing hoses, or flexi-hoses, are rubber pipes surrounded by braided lengths of stainless steel. They’re used to connect water to taps and fixtures, so you’ll usually find them under the sinks, in your bathroom, laundry, or kitchen. These flexible hose pipes reduce the stress on pipes by absorbing hydraulic shock and ground movement.
What are the advantages of using flexi hoses?
These hoses are flexible (as the name would suggest) so easy to manoeuvre or install, as well as easy to replace. They’re versatile and come in many shapes and sizes so they can be bent and shaped to accommodate your water supply. Quick to install, they overcome tricky alignment issues, reducing labor costs.
Tips for choosing the best flexible hose
- Don't choose the cheaper option - you get what you pay for!
- Check the warranty that comes with the flexi hose
- Check the braid - the thinner the braid the weaker the hose
- Ensure the flexi hose has the WaterMark certification
We also recommend always having your flexi hoses installed by a reliable and qualified plumber. This is to ensure they are installed correctly and that you are safe from being the victim of a flexi flood.
How long does a flexi hose last?
Generally, stainless steel flexible hoses will need replacing every 5 years. Before you find yourself in deep water, it’s wise to check hoses regularly, preferably by a professional plumber. Look for signs of aging, such as bulges, kinks, frayed areas, or rust spots on the braided section of the pipe.
Make sure you also check the warranty period and expiry dates. If your hoses have reached their shelf life, or are showing any signs of wear, get in touch with Chiswick Plumbing today.
Despite their relatively long shelf life, recent data released by insurance companies show that flexi hoses are the number one cause of internal flooding in Australian homes. Burst flexible water hoses cause more than 20% of water damage claims, sometimes bursting within months of their installation. As a single flexi hose can leak up to 1,500 litres of water per hour, this can lead to irreversible water damage to your house
Why does a flexi hose burst?
The rubber tube inside a flexi hose expands under pressure, and the stainless steel braid is designed to control the rubber tube and prevent further expansion. However, if the stainless steel fails and breaks, water pressure will cause the rubber lining to bulge out of the sleeve and rupture.
Sometimes, damage occurs during installation, especially when property owners attempt to do plumbing installations themselves. Twisting or stretching the hose to make it fit during installation may cause a weak point in the hose and affect its function.
Particular attention should be paid to the torquing of the nuts at either end of the connectors, too. If the nuts are not tightened enough, this will create a leak path on the outside of the hose. If they are too tight, the seal will rupture. In both cases, chlorine from the water supply will build up on the braiding and corrode it over time.This is the most common reason for bursting. The presence or contact of water exterior to the hose causes corrosion, which is why most failures are seen under sinks, toilets, and dishwashers.
Flexible hoses used in closed cupboards under sinks are most at risk due to the high humidity environment caused by condensation. This is especially true for cupboards where household chemicals are stored. Those chemicals often contain chlorine which stays in the air in the closed cabinet and dissolves into hydrochloric acid under humidity, corroding the stainless steel braiding of the flexi hose.
Preventing bursts
There are several things you can do to reduce the likelihood of a burst flexible hose, but as a general rule to note, remember that regular maintenance is much cheaper than damage repair. A good time to get a plumber to perform a maintenance check is before you go on holiday as we see a lot of issues occurring when families are out of town and find a disaster when they return.
Here are some tips for preventing bursts -
- Buy a good quality brand of flexi hose (with the WaterMark certification) and always get them installed by a licensed plumber
- Talk to your plumber to start a preventative maintenance program to help protect your property from floods by regularly checking your flexi hoses for damage or leaks
- Get mini stop valves added on all water lines with flexible hose connections so that they can easily be isolated in an emergency situation
- Install a vent hole in cupboards to allow for ventilation and reduce humidity and chlorine levels in closed cupboards where household chemicals are kept, or, remove chemicals from under the sink where a flexi hose is present
- Switch off the main water supply of your home when you are going away for an extended period or book a plumbing check-up before you leave.
If you notice any damage on your flexi hose or need a local plumber to install a replacement or maintain flexible hosing, Chiswick Plumbing can help. If you are experiencing flooding from a burst flexi hose, turn off the main water supply and give us a call.
