I'm a weak and feeble old woman.....

[Wingedharpy]

so, how the bejaysus do I close these?

I need to disconnect them ready for installation of new washing machine.
They are not budging and, as the little tap things are plastic, I don't want to snap them with anything too brutal.
Any tips?

Have you tried WD40?

Yes.

Dp says turn the tap bit so the water is off, then he'd probably use a wrench, but gently.

Are you wanting to disconnect them altogether or just stop water coming through.

If you just want to stop the water you can use a screwdriver and turn the metal screws that are on the actual metal pipes (about 8 inches down from where the plastic pipes are attached)

If those taps will not turn the property will have a main water meter my dad's is in the garden some can be in the street.

You will need a towel down is you switch of a main meter, empty the hot tank the hot is coming from before switching the main water meter. They can be a bit stiff so maybe a friend can do it or wd40 will work in over night.

What uggmum says, quarter turn the screws further up pipe.

I may be wrong here folks, (it wouldn't be the first time), but, I think the screws to the left of the photo, would turn off the water flow to the utility sink, which is out of shot of photo.
The water comes in from the right and feeds washing machine and little sink.
I can't see where the pipes go once they head off through the wall to the right, but I know they don't emerge on the other side.
I want to disconnect them uggmum, so that I can (attempt to) move old washer out ready for new one to be installed.
It is a home to lots of creepy crawlies and must be cleaned up before new one arrives.

Turn the wingnuts to the left, wear a rubber glove to disconnect the hoses.

Alternatively if you really are a feeble little old lady, tell the installers the truth. It will take them 30 seconds to disconnect.

You need to leave the wd40 for a few hours

Then use something to get a good grip - rubber gloves or a tea towel

Leave it until the morning, just in case there's any problems!!

Make sure you see them fully remove the travel locks/bolts.

Thanks all for your help and advice.
I'll WD40 again before bed and try again tomorrow with the marigolds.

Good luck, hope it worked for you.

This is why I pay a bit extra for them to disconnect and remove the older machine because it's annoyingly just too much hassle.

How are you getting rid of the old one OP (as a weak and feeble old woman? )

OK.
It's me again.

So, I've managed to turn off the hot water supply to old machine, but, I've managed to snap (aaagh!) the plastic tap bit off the cold water supply.
Luckily, it's snapped while still in the on position ie. cold water will still flow to the machine.

Am I right in thinking, as new machine is cold fill only (aren't they all?), we can turn off water at mains, drain the taps etc and they can plumb in new one, then turn water back on?

@WutheringHeights66 : I am paying them to deliver, install and remove but the T's and C's said the old one had to be disconnected first - probably so that they aren't responsible for snapping off your 20 year old plastic bits!

Anyone?

Hire a Hubby or similar? Throw yourself on the mercy of the people who come to install the new machine and tell them it's too much for you?

I would not be able to do this with any confidence and like most people I don't like asking for help but when I have "given in" and asked, I have been pleasantly surprised by how willing people are to lend a hand.

Be careful OP. My husband fucked up this very job, ended up flooding the neighbours downstairs and it cost of hundreds for the plasterer!

@pigletjohn you are awesome with this stuff.

The plastic levers are retained with a small screw.

If the lever is broken, undo the screw (probably a PZ1 screwdriver, not Phillips) and take the broken plastic off. I think it us a 6mm square shaft underneath that you can turn with a small spanner.

If you examine them carefully, you will find metal nibs on the valve that prevent the plastic levers moving more than 90 degrees. If you try to turn them the wrong way, or too far, they break.

A set of CRV screwdrivers, flat and pozi, and a set of three adjustable wrenches, is a handy thing to keep in your kitchen toolbox under the sink.

Examples for your Father Christmas list

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-6-Piece-Screwdriver-Set/p/149045

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-12-Piece-Screwdriver-Set/p/149046

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Assorted-3-Piece-Adjustable-Wrench-Set/p/149054

Similar products in Screwfix, Aldi, Lidl in the Aisles of Mystery.

CRV is Chrome Vanadium, which an alloy steel used for good hand tools. Don't buy Chrome Plated or Carbon Steel which are inferior. Most screws you meet will need Pozi screwdrivers which are not the same as Philipps. The wrong one will damage the screw and the driver.

This
www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Water-Pump-Pliers-250mm/p/159816
Is adjustable and can be used on the big plastic nuts on washing machine hoses. Please don't use it on nuts and bolts as it will damage them.

And yes, the things that look like screwheads on the isolating ball valves are also quarter-turn controls (not screws) to turn them off.

The ones shown are very poor quality and liable to leak if you touch them or frown at them or speak loudly nearby.
www.screwfix.com/p/isolating-valve-15mm-10-pack/32802
Price is for a pack of ten.

This one
www.screwfix.com/p/pegler-tee-ball-valve-blue-15mm/21860
Is ten times the price and a hundred times as good (also available in red)

Thank you all.
I'm touching nothing else!
I have those type of water pump pliers @PigletJohn - that's how I managed to snap the plastic lever on the cold supply pipe.
I knew about the isolating ball valve screw head thingies but, in this case, they would turn off the water supply AFTER the washing machine junction, rather than BEFORE (water comes in from right of photo and flows to left).
I'm positively insulted at the "very poor quality" judgement of my plumbing accessories.
I'll have you know a plumber once told me I had the cleanest kitchen sink trap he had ever seen in his 30 years of plumbing! Poor quality indeed!

Oh OP, I hate this thing so much!

I know what to do, understand what to do and why needs doing, all aok.

Then can't undo the fucking things properly.

FFS.

No advice I resort to instructing DH big strong fella. When lived alone I took approach of becoming enraged, effing and blinding, muttering about male default, glaring at the thing I couldn't shift, hurting my hands/wrists trying, giving up and then getting drunk.

That doesn't help with the actual issue btw.

As so many houses have these rubbish fittings....a job DH has every few months is to spend a few minutes going through the ones we have and opening and closing them a few times to stop them seizing up. Has worked for us over the years