Hi,

I've just bought a house and tried to connect a washing machine today. The
plumbing includes valves a little like these (http://tinyurl.com/4lwpw) but
straight, not angled.

Unfortunately, there is some leaking, even if the taps are turned off and
the washing machine's hoses are connected (with the supplied filter
washers).

My theory is that:

a. the valves are inherently faulty (given that the taps aren't 100%
effective on them)
b. the valves haven't been correctly fitted to the copper piping (I can't
see any PTFE tape on them, but I don't know whether this is correct).

Does this sound right?

Thanks,
John.