My vent is a rigid vent, not a telescoping one. It is 4" typical rigid duct work to the outside except for the flex aluminum stuff that is at the big box that I put in. I have never done any of this before, so I read and tried to figure it out as best I could. The box and flexible duct work I got online at an outfit called the Dryerbox. I linked it below. The box is put in upside down compared to their pictures because my vent goes into my basement and exits the side of the house. Be sure to calculate the duct run that is recommended by your dryer manufacturer. Each 90degree bend subtracts 5' of run you have available as recommended by the manufacturer. So you want to have the least amount of bends. I don't think the flex connection counts though, at least it doesn't for my dryer. You can get these flexable auger like brush for cleaning vents. They sell them at the website I linked below and at Lowes. I used it for my old dryer and it works. You are supposed to be able to run the brush using your drill to spin it, from your outside vent. When we cleaned ours it was beneficial to be able to get the brush right into the dryer itself, attaching a vacuum to pull out accumulated lint. There was plenty. Regarding the water, I think where ever you can reach it and get it turned off is the important thing. I plan on turning the water off between uses, now that I have the set in my living area. My old set is in the basement and I didn't give it a thought. This laundry project has taught me a lot about better management of my appliances. I installed Floodchek hoses on my basement set. http://www.floodchek.com/ I bought 2 sets and gave one set to my plumber. He thought they looked like high pressure hoses. He liked them. Regarding your pull out. Could you have a top and a bottom pull out, then a shelving area with door to hide and access the vent, electric, and water? Here is another drawing of my setup. It shows where the vent goes inside the wall and down to the basement. There will be a door on the shelving area where I can pull out the shelves to get to the vent exiting the dryer on the side. I bought a Miele set and there is the option for side venting. There is also my water connection on the right side that isn't shown on this drawing, but is seen in my picture. I also have and outlet near the front of this cabinet for an iron. The bottom area will be open for a laundry basket, though I will have shelving available if I want to use them. The bottom area is where my electric outlets for the W/D are. The one drawer shown will be one of those pull out ironing boards. I do very little ironing but thought it could be handy. My counter between the ironing drawer and the shelving above will not be exposed, instead hidden behind the door (door not indicated on this drawing) When the door is open there will be the vent box and water hoses visible I'm afraid. But it will be all accessible. Current design of my setup, showing vent that is inside the wall: Here is a link that might be useful: The Dryerbox online store.

Okay... so the regulations for lead have tightened up. I think it started in Californian and Vermont, and then Maryland. Since manufacturers don't want to make special inventory for a few states, they ask the feds to apply it nationwide. This has happened also with things like car emissions, light bulb efficiency (yep, those efficiency standards that conservatives go on about were requested by manufactures to eliminate piecemeal standards by states). This is a good thing since plumbing parts can be in domestic water supply infrastructure for 100 years or more - it's good to raise the standards. That said, it doesn't mean that you need to jerk out the existing. If you still have lead pipe - that should go for sure...but you don't need to pull your pre-2014 brass valves and such. The truth is that the old valves might even meet the new regs, or be very close... but the burden of certifying them isn't worth it for the manufacturer. Keep in mind that smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle are the things that are far more likely to poison you in long term - not a very tiny amount of lead in brass valve body.

First of all, you may not legally be permitted to make an alteration to the system. In most jurisdictions any multi-family residential structure which is greater than 3 stories in height or which has four or more living units is considered a "Commercial Residential Structure." In recent years we have seen a lot of apartment complex's go condo and this has created a real gray area in the zoning restrictions. In some condo purchases each owner is a member of a corporate agreement to maintain the common areas of the structure and grounds while in other situations when you purchase your condo you only get title to your individual living unit while there remains an owner or property manager that oversees the common areas. In order to perform any maintenance or alterations on the utilities from the point where they enter the structure to your living unit you must be a bonafide owner of the common area or you must be an employee of the owner of the common area. The laws further define that an owner or employee of the owner may only perform maintenance. By definition, maintenance is the act of repairing or replacing the existing components but you may not alter the original design in any manner. In order to make alterations to the original design no matter how slight, you MUST BE a licensed commercial plumber. (those licensed solely as residential plumbers may not work on these structures). For years the commercial codes have required that all commercial multi-family residential structures must have either a separte water service or an individual shutoff to each living unit. You stated that you do not know where the main water line enters your living unit. The first step would be to locate that line and you will most likely find you already have the individual valve you desire. It may be in a common utility space, in a service access panel in the ceiling in the hallway, a janitors closet in the hall or even underground just outside your unit.

I'm not sure that you can find a hose end connection of that type that is much shorter. If you don't want to try the other suggestions above, you would do better to find a hose that was less rigid. Refrigerator supply lines generally use small diameter hose, typically 1/4". Mine is 1/4" flexible copper that coils behind the refrigerator and doesn't cause the interference that your large diameter, semi-rigid hose does. They also make plastic hose for refrigerators in smaller diameters than what you have there. A hose as large as yours in this application is not that common.