So I went out in the yard to work Saturday and realized after a few minutes that I'd forgotten a tool. I made my way into the back door of the house, which is by the laundry room, and was greeted with what I can only describe as the nearest thing to a sauna that I've had in a while. There was a loud "shhhhh" sound coming from the laundry room and the place was filled with hot steamy air.

The hot water hose to the washing machine had burst, with water literally splitting out of the side of the hose. I grabbed a towel, turned the valve off, and then started cleaning up the mess. The water had been spraying up to the ceiling and along two of the walls.. so water was everywhere. A catch pan wouldn't have helped here.

I was lucky since the damage seems to be limited to just some air ducts that were water logged and will need to be replaced. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't forgotten that tool (having my mind on work paid off I guess) because the mixture of water and steam would have made a mess pretty quickly. Actually, I do know. Two of our friends have had washing machines run amok in the last year. One did nearly $50,000 damage since it flooded not only the main floor of a house, but the basement as well.

So for now I have braided steel hoses running to our old washer. Our hoses were probably 12yrs old and had been through at least 4 moves.. so they should have been replaced long ago. I also tested with a water pressure gauge overnight and found that the high pressure was 160psi (way high).. so that might have had a small part in it.. so I'll need to get a regulator on our line.

But I started looking at more permanent solutions. Here's what I found..

whole house..
http://www.h2obreaker.com/ProductFeatures.html

just the washing machine
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/washingmachineshutoffvalve.html

of course a $10 ball valve or two will do the same thing, but they require somebody to remember to turn 'em on/off.