Alright, so the other day I noticed the hoses connecting my washing machine looked a bit tired, maybe even starting to bulge slightly near the connector. Didn't want to wait for a flood, you know? Decided it was time to swap them out.

Getting Ready

First things first, I went and bought some new hoses. Went for the stainless steel braided ones this time, heard they last longer and are less likely to burst. Seemed like a good idea. Back home, I gathered my stuff. Didn't need much, really.

• The new hoses, obviously.
• A pair of channel lock pliers, just in case the old ones were stuck tight.
• An old bucket.
• A couple of old towels.

You always get some water spillage doing this, so the bucket and towels are key.

The Swap

Okay, step one, and this is super important, I shut off the water. Behind my washer, there are two valves on the wall, one hot, one cold. Turned those handles clockwise until they stopped. You gotta make sure they're completely off.

Next, I put the bucket underneath where the hoses connect to the wall valves. Used the pliers to loosen the old hoses from the wall first. Lefty-loosey, you know. A little bit of water always comes out, even with the valves off, that's what the bucket's for. Caught most of it.

Once they were disconnected from the wall, I unscrewed them from the back of the washing machine itself. Same deal, had the towels ready for any drips. The old hoses were pretty stiff.

Getting the new ones on was basically the reverse. I connected the new hoses to the back of the washer first. Made sure the 'hot' hose went to the hot inlet and 'cold' to cold – they're usually marked. Hand-tightened them first, then gave them maybe a quarter turn more with the pliers. You don't want to overtighten and strip the threads or crack the plastic on the washer inlet.

Then I connected the other ends to the wall valves. Same process: hand-tight, then a little snug-up with the pliers. Double-checked everything felt secure.

Turning it Back On and Checking

This is the moment of truth. I slowly turned the hot water valve back on first. Listened for any hissing sounds and immediately checked both connection points – at the wall and at the back of the washer – for any drips. Wiped them with a dry paper towel to be sure. Looked good.

Then I slowly turned the cold water valve back on. Did the same check again, watching closely for any leaks at all four connection points (hot/wall, hot/washer, cold/wall, cold/washer). Everything seemed dry. Phew!

Just to be safe, I ran a short rinse cycle on the washer, keeping an eye on the connections the whole time. Still dry. Success!

All Done

Pulled the washer back into place carefully, making sure not to kink the new hoses. Wiped up the tiny bit of water that escaped onto the floor. Job done. Feels good knowing those old hoses are gone and replaced with something more solid. Definitely worth doing for peace of mind.