My Water Pipe to My Washer Machine Broke With the Treads Stuck in the Line

Washer Problems

• Washing machines connect to the hot and cold water lines through flexible hoses, similar to garden hoses. Once connected, faucets stay on unless problems with the washer require turning off the water. Since faucets might stay open for years, hard water scale and corrosion can make turning them off difficult. Old pipes might break under the pressure needed to shut the faucet off. Pipes break at the weakest point, the corroded threads under the most leverage stress, and leave the threaded male portion of the pipe in place. Several approaches can remove the broken threads without doing more damage.

Best Solution

• Internal pipe wrenches fit to either socket wrenches or box wrenches and extract both right-hand and left-hand threaded fittings. The knurled bit of the internal wrench fits inside the broken part. Turned in either direction, the cam in the middle of the wrench grabs the inside of the pipe and levers the rest of the bit into the opposite side of the broken nipple. The internal pipe wrench places pressure on two areas of the pipe and contacts a wide section of pipe, giving the tool an excellent grip. Rotating the broken threads out works best if a second pipe wrench holds the female fitting steady.

Nipple Extractors

• Pipe nipple extractors work in a similar way, but only grip in one direction. For normal right-hand threads, choose a pipe nipple extractor that grips in a counterclockwise direction. The cutting edges of the extractor's spiral flutes bite into the inside edge of the broken pipe nipple. The extractor might not grip well unless tapped securely into place with a hammer. Back up the pipe with scrap wood when tapping, to limit stress on other fittings. Unless set perfectly straight, turning the extractor can break the extractor loose and ream out the inside of the nipple. Repeated failures make the situation worse.

Tips

• Corrosion probably caused the threads to weaken and break, so treat the joint with a light penetrating oil before trying to remove the broken piece. Penetrating oil designed to loosen threads needs only a few minutes to soak in, according to the Liquid Wrench website. Severely rusted threads might yield to the tip of a flat screwdriver blade. Cutting a slot in the broken part from the inside with a hacksaw blade relieves pressure in the fitting, which can then be pried loose and broken out. Cutting and levering can also damage the part you need to keep. Try extraction tools before cutting to avoid bigger problems.