On 28 Jul 2008, (Dave Martindale) wrote in
alt.home.repair:

http://home.comcast.net/~esionder/temp/dishwasher1.jpg

First, take a look inside the female threaded end on the flex
water line. I'll bet that there is a rubber gasket in there. If
so, you should *not* use Teflon tape on that connection. The
rubber seals between the end of the water line and the elbow,
while the nut simply holds the joint together under pressure. You
don't need Teflon tape between the nut and the elbow, since water
shouldn't ever reach the nut. (But using Teflon tape can make it
difficult to tighten the nut enough, leaving the rubber gasket
uncompressed, and allowing water to leak between the hose and the
nut).

I tried it without the teflon, and it was leaking. I understand that it
shouldn't be necessary, but I was careful to not cover the tip of the
tube where the rubber gasket would hit. It seems to be watertight, so
I'll leave it alone.

It's possible that the leak was from the valve side all along. It was
hard to see what was happening when the unit was in its upright
position.

On the other hand, the elbow to water valve connection is metal to
metal, and should have Teflon tape. It doesn't look like you've
screwed the elbow in very tight. You should tighten hand tight
and then another turn or two with a wrench. When you're done,
half or more of the width of the original Teflon tape is usually
hidden inside the connection. In the photo, assuming normal
half-inch wide tape, it looks like almost the entire width of the
tape is still outside the joint.

It's already screwed in quite tight, maybe 3/4 to not-quite-one full
turn after finger tightening. I was afraid the brass might crack if I
tightened it more. Is that a valid concern? Or can brass stand that
kind of stress?