Flexi-Hoses are flexible plastic hoses covered by a metal sheath that are often used in plumbing to connect basin taps, bath taps etc. They look similar to a shower hose but have different connectors on, and look like this:
As the owner of a number of properties which I let out on commercial leases or occasionally on booking.com etc, I have found it is wise to become familiar with semi-complicated plumbing/maintenance tasks. Firstly it saves me a ton of money on plumbers, and secondly, it means I can check the work of tradesmen when they’ve completed their task (or instruct them correctly in the first place).
The Story – When my water pressure dropped
I was called by the current residents of the apartment in question to be told there was hardly any water pressure from the cold tap in one of the bathrooms.
I came out to have a look, and after removing the screws and silicone (nightmare!) from the side of the bath found this, which was causing the problem:
The hoses are clearly kinked and were restricting the water flow.
Correct Installation of Bath Flexi-Hoses
This diagram explains how flexi-hoses should be installed:
- The length of the hose matches the distance between the pipe and the taps
- If the hose was too long, the normal solution would be to cut the pipe down to match up the length. This unfortunately was not a solution in my case.
The solution – there wasn’t one! – I had to make it up
The problem was this (see image below): a) the distance between the tap connector and the pipe was only 200mm, and no matter how hard I tried (including trips to the plumber’s merchant etc) I could not find a length of flexi hose which was 200mm.
The second problem (b) was because the pipes had not been properly cleaned up when installed (see circled area in red) it was not possible to cut down the pipe so that a 300mm hose could be installed properly (300mm this was the length the builders had installed).
Solution 2 – Fail – try a 500mm hose
I tried a 500mm hose to provide more room for a bend, and this kinked immediately.
I called the plumbers merchant and suggested a 1000mm hose for maximum curve and he said that it would kink when coming off the top of the pipe (there is no rigidity in flexi-hoses – that’s the point, so they would not stick up, they’d just flop over.
Solution 3 – Success
After pondering the matter with at the plumber’s merchants, I had a brain-wave:
Install Elbow (right-angle) fittings onto the pipe and then attach the flexi-hose to these: no kinks.
This is an elbow:
My Finished joint with no kinks
Oh what joy. It worked. There were no kinks, no leaks, and the water pressure was great. And more than that I had saved myself £300 on calling out a plumber, who in all probability would have added a flexi-hose, told me it would be fine, and then it would get kinked again, and we’d be back to square one.
And finally……
I am not a plumber. I know quite a lot about plumbing through the constant endurance of keeping a property portfolio up to scratch. This is a worldwide website, and if you are required to use a registered plumber (etc) in your jurisdiction, please do so.
I am sharing this post to help others who might find themselves in the same situation, and to property owners who want to save themselves some money.
If you know a better way of doing this or have any comments to make, please do comment below and I will certainly respond.
Keep the faith!
