Recently, one of our clients contacted us to do an insurance quotation. They experienced water damage when a flexi connection (I'll explain in a little more detail what this is below) burst underneath their vanity on an upper level ensuite bathroom. And by damage I mean major flooding catastrophe damage!
It's mid-morning and our clients have already left for work when the flexi connection under their custom-made vanity bursts. With water freely pouring from beneath the vanity pipes for many hours from an upper floor level, the damage wasn't confined to just the bathroom, but overflowed onto a carpeted bedroom floor, penetrating the carpet, the sheet flooring of the bedroom and the ceiling of the kitchen below. This caused a considerable amount of damage and the repair bill was in the many thousands.
But what many home owners don't know is that this scenario was is totally preventable.
What is a flexi connector?
It is a connector used in plumbing to connect points in a water piping system that may compensate for pipes that are not in alignment and sometimes to reduce vibration in the pipes.
There are many flexible water connectors in the home. Because they can be subject to wear and tear, they should be checked regularly to ensure they are still sound and have no leaks. These flexible plumbing connections can be located in many places in the home and you may have a flexible plumbing connection:
- under basins in vanities
- under kitchen sinks
- toilet suite connections, and even
- tap connections where flexi’s are in constant use.
White vanity unit with its flexi connectors shown below:
Here's another example of a modern bathroom vanity, with a different style of flexi connector:
Modern grey and white bathroom vanity*
And here's a flexi connector used for the toilet suite:
How To Check Your Flexible Plumbing Connections
- Feel the flexi connection with your hand to see if there are any cracks or tears in the outer casing of the woven mesh connection.
- Check inside vanities, kitchen cupboards under the sink as well as the toilet suite, and look for any signs of leaking water and ensure the flexi connector is not coming loose.
- If in doubt, contact your licensed plumber and have your flexi connections professionally checked.
Three simple checks that can save you a lot of damage, stress and money. It's better to be safe than sorry.
I hope my first in a series of Home Plumbing Tips has been helpful. Head to the comments below and let me know if this has been a useful plumbing tip for you.
Because there's no place like home...a well cared for home!
