Could swapped hot/cold lines on the washer cause a leak?

[petunia44]

I just moved into a complete remodel, and noticed the hot/cold lines to my washer seemed to be switched. The cold hose was hot, and the hot cold after running a cycle. I switched the hoses on the washer, but that didn't fix it and now I think it was right the first time. Several days after this, I noticed our Navien NPE240A was cycling every 5 min. Seemed like a leak, so I turned off the water main, waited a few min, then back on again. I could hear & see (from an access panel) water spurting out of a line under the house. Not entirely sure it's the laundry, but it's in that vicinity but also where the lines go back to the water heater & near a bathroom. We are on city water, not softened.

We have a recirculation pump that prior to this, would cycle every 30 min or so. No issues with hot or cold at the taps, even after switching washer hoses. Could switching the hoses have caused a leak? Or are they unrelated? The contractor's plumber is coming to look at it, but I'm now concerned about the system. Thanks.

 

[Sylvan]

Hoses not related

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

Switching the hoses will have no affect other than how you fill the washing machine. Hot will be cold, cold will be hot. No leaks though.
Check the meter and see if you have a leak in your pipes though.

 

[petunia44]

great, thank you so much for the fast reply. I will have the plumber diagnose the leak, it's not small.

 

[Reach4]

After the plumber observes the leak, his next step may be to turn off the valve coming into the water heater. If the leak stops, the problem is associated with the hot only.

 

[petunia44]

Leak fixed, it was super strange but the plumber found what looked like a large nail hole in one of the hot water lines. It was too far from the floor to be the floor guys. The whole line was pressure tested after all the framing was completed. Unless there was a nail in there that blew out after we moved in and started running everything (line getting hot/cold), I have no idea how it happened.

 

[Reach4]

Happy outcome. Contractor quickly sent a skilled plumber. He found and fixed the problem.

Only question might be how much water did you pay for during that leak. You might ask for compensation for that if it is considerable.

 

[Jadnashua]

If the builder did that before the water was turned on, they may not have really noticed except that they missed the stud, joist, or whatever.