Bursting Flex Hoses…

I will guarantee that this is an issue that you have thought very little about over your lifetime.  Our office has had 2 incidents where flex hoses have burst in the past 12 months and both of these  saw their owners dealing with large landlord insurance claims due to the flooding that resulted from the issues.

Let start with what is a flex hose?

These are flexible rubber hoses, encased in braided stainless steel.  They are traditionally used under kitchen sinks, bathroom vanity sinks, to toilet cisterns, to hot water systems and under laundry sinks.  When the hoses start to reach the end of their lifetime, they can begin to rust, bulge or generally be more prone to bursting without notice.

You can almost guarantee that if a hose is going to burst, that your tenant will not be at home, because Murphy’s Law is a real thing!  Then what happens is that up to 1500 litres of water per hour has been pouring unchecked into your kitchen, bathroom or laundry.

The plumbers have spoken…

I have spoken with our office plumbers and they have indicated that the life of a flex hose is approximately 5 years.  After that time, you should consider replacing them, so that they are new and there is no risk of them bursting.  The plumbers have also told me that bursting flex hoses is one of the biggest contributors to insurance claims in the home.

What can we do?

To be proactive about this issue, our office is going to be looking at flex hoses at our next round of routine inspections and making recommendations to our landlords surrounding replacement of these items as required.

If you have any questions about flex hoses, then give me a call at the office on 63525125 or email me tina.case@professionals.com.au