Just because the black iron pipe is near the plumbing section at the hardware store doesn’t mean that you should substitute it for a bronze pipe nipple that attaches to a gate valve for a dishwasher. Iron and water don’t mix. Well, actually, they do mix very well, leading to rust and a leaking pipe, and rotting wood. Below is a picture of the before (incorrect iron pipe) and after (shiny new bronze pipe nipple). Click to zoom into the corroded mess that used to be the bottom of the pipe….

As it turns out, I could have actually re-used the dishwasher connector hose, but that corrosion looked so bad I just bought an entire new kit.

Of course, if I had seen this gem BEFORE finding the leak and having to move the dishwasher, I probably would have double-checked all of the water fittings at that point. Click to zoom in on the sacrificial-vice-grips-as-pipe-anchor in all it’s glory. (I actually couldn’t find a good practical reason to replace this….as it’s a righteous hack…but a hack it is…)