Can Laundry Hookups/Related pipes burst with no water in them?

[PrettyGoodTenant]

Hello from Columbus, Ohio.

Edit: I DON'T have laundry hooked up. There are not any machines attached. Never have been. That's why I'm wondering if the pipes have water in them at all. Thx

I am really eager to get a handle on this dispute with my landlord. She's received notice from the city that there is a leak coming from under our porch. The city reassures me that this is not my problem, but my landlord seems determined to blame it on us. Her current angle is that our laundry hookups were not kept warm and broke.

1. Do laundry hookups/pipes have water in them even when they're not hooked up to a machine and aren't being used?

2. If they are not actually hooked up and being used, could they still burst if they got cold?

3. Could a burst laundry line pipe in the back of the house cause a leak from under the porch?

That's about it. A city Approved Contractor is going to have to come out and dig, and make a repair. After that an inspector is supposed to come by and ok the job. I'm not sure what all cost she would incur for that, but she's hoping to charge it to us.

What do you think?

 

[Reach4]

1. Do laundry hookups/pipes have water in them even when they're not hooked up to a machine and aren't being used?

Yes, yes, and yes. I think. I am not a plumber.

That does not make freezing your fault, however. I would have a hard time seeing how that could be considered your fault, but maybe there is more to the story.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

It might be an issue if you had CI pipes, but the dilution rate in a washing machine once it's finished with the rinse cycle would have the concentration quite low once it finished. Now, some fabrics may not really like the acid, but that's another subject. I wouldn't use a baking powder based 'green' laundry detergent with it, though!