That time of year is fast approaching again. Yes, fall is here, and that means back to school for the kids. With the start of the new school year come more activities and often more chores for us - making lunches, more chauffeuring, and doing loads of laundry. Did you know burst washing machine hoses are the number one cause of water damage in a home?

On average the damage can cost you up to $32,000. That is a lot of unnecessary stress and cost that can be avoided if you follow some simple advice I would like to share with you. A good, inexpensive way to significantly decrease the likelihood of this happening to you is to replace your plastic hoses with steel braided hoses. As soon as I read the statistics on home water damage and floods caused by rubber washing machine hoses bursting I immediately replaced them with the steel braided washing machine hoses. And it only took 15 minutes.

Steel braided hoses withstand more pressure, don't sprout leaks as easily, and will better protect against bursting. (Important note here!) Make sure you turn off the water in the laundry room before changing the hose. It should be located behind your washing machine. Turn the knob to the right to close off, and to the left to let the water flow restart. Even after changing the hoses, I would recommend you check them periodically for leaks and bulges. When Mr. Rooter Plumbing technicians do plumbing checkups in homes, they inspect hoses to make sure they're in good working order. And if you've not found the time, with all the shuttling to sports and activities, to change out those washing machine hoses, your Mr. Rooter Plumbing service professional would be happy to do that for you. That way you can spend your fall enjoying the cooler air rather than cleaning up after a flood. Here's wishing you a world class day.