Flexible braided pipes responsible for more than 20 per cent of water damage claims

It costs as little as $10, lurks beneath hundreds of household kitchen and bathroom sinks across Australia, and could cause thousands of dollars' damage if it is not checked regularly.

Flexible braided hoses accounted for more than one in five water damage claims lodged by Australian households in 2016, according to new research released by general insurer IAG.

Commonly known as a flexi hose, these versatile rubber pipes armoured in braided layers of stainless steel, are popular in modern home fitouts because they can be bent into shape. They started to be installed about 15 years ago, and their use is now extremely widespread in contemporary residential construction and renovation.

The pipes have required WaterMark certification for the past 11 years, but the Australian Building Codes Board, which has supervised the scheme since 2013, says documentation on how many have been certified is scarce before this.

But the research from IAG, drawing on 15,000 "escape of water" claims over 12 months, suggests that they can become a "ticking time tomb" under the sink.



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I've replaced the full set in my place, the new ones have a date installed label and a recommendation that they be replaced every 5 years.
Next time I'll put in proper copper pipe, changing these every 5 years is silly.

 

We replaced a pair in the bathroom last year for the property that we use for short term rentals.
An easy way to check is to put on gloves and slowly and carefully run your hand down down the flexi hose feeling for anything catching on the glove , which indicates broken braids, especially around the bend, discolouration is also a giveaway especially on early unrated flexi hose that was incorrectly fitted to hot water, and/or fitted with a kink.
Its been a requirement in most states for years to fit isolation valves in conjunction with flexi hose, but there are still a few cowboys that will still just replace the flexi hose.
Which means the entire water supply to the property has to be isolated until repairs are made, which means no showers, no toilet,and no drinking water , and an expensive bill if it goes on or near the weekend.

 

They have new polyamide ones (plastic) due to it not being steel it doesn't rust and they give a 15 year warranty on them, which states it on the tag. much better then the steel ones.

Cheers, Elives

 

But you save $5 by not putting in a valve

 

Where do we find these for sale?

 

Plumbing stores, may be an order in item.

 

DIY plumbing too. Not uncommon to find DIY jobs where there is a kink. Installing Ikea taps or basin sets etc is common. My plumber said he reckons 2/3rd of all fails are DIYers and 1/3 is broken down cheap hoses (while he replaced a set). Some DIY products come with rubbish connectors or too short etc. Some poorly fitted taps will act like a ratchet to unwind the braiding.

We have a house with poly plastic water lines. The joints on them also known to fail (rare) but it starts as a drip.

 

My wife's brother is a plumber.
He came over one day and just couldn't help himself and have a look under the sink.
Good thing he did - he noticed one of these pipes to have a massive balloon in it, all rusted away, ready to pop.
Changed every pipe like it in the house that afternoon.
I now check them every 6 months

 

I know two people (a brother & sister, would you believe!) who had ruptures in these, causing many, many thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Both were away from home at the time it happened, the sister was alerted by a neighbour when the water started coming out the front door ... the leak was on the 3rd floor .

EDIT: NRMA home insurance had a scheme last year to get the hoses checked, I took advantage of that and got the mini-taps put on for the kitchen mixer as that was the only one that didn't have any shut off.