I get where you’re coming from, but honestly, I worry more about box drips than most people seem to. If the box is tucked behind a washer or fridge, it can go unnoticed for ages and rot out the wall or floor. At least with a connection leak, you might spot it when you’re under the sink or changing a filter. Push-to-connects make me nervous too, but I’ve seen compression fittings fail when they weren’t tightened just right. Nothing’s foolproof... I always double-check everything, even if it means crawling around with a flashlight.
I get the concern about hidden box drips—nobody wants to find a rotten subfloor years later. But honestly, I’ve had more headaches from connection leaks, especially those sneaky ones on braided supply lines. They don’t always gush; sometimes it’s just a slow seep that runs down the line and pools somewhere you’d never expect.
Here’s my take: every time I install a new connection, I run a dry paper towel under it after turning the water back on. If there’s even a hint of moisture, I redo the fitting right then. For boxes behind appliances, I’ll pull them out once or twice a year when I’m cleaning anyway—just to peek back there.
Push-to-connect fittings are a bit of a gamble in my book too, but honestly, nothing beats just tightening everything by hand first, then snugging up with a wrench. Over-tightening is just as bad as loose. I guess it comes down to routine checks and not trusting anything to be “set it and forget it.”