Answer Hello Nick, The part you are looking at is a redundant part installed by Maytag which was originally referred to the technicians as the part required by the EPA to prevent the water in the tub from being re-introduced to the fresh water supply. Now the issue with this that all technicians mentioned and argued about was that the water would have to levitate back up to the inlet flume and would also have to go against water pressure and the closed water inlet valve to even get to the fresh water supply. There is absolutely no problem with bypassing this as long as you do not eliminate the "S" turn in the hose. This is necessary to allow the tub to move around during an out-of-balance load without damaging the inlet line and flooding the home. Read More... Answered by AppliancePartsPros.com | Tuesday, May 29, 2012