As soon as fall arrives and temperatures start to drop, protecting your home from costly water damage should be a top priority. One of the most vulnerable spots in any house is the outdoor faucet—often called a hose bibb or spigot. When water freezes inside the pipe, it expands and can cause the line to burst, leading to expensive repairs. Fortunately, learning how to winterize an outdoor faucet is a quick and easy DIY task .
Here is your step-by-step guide to preparing your exterior faucets for winter and preventing frozen pipes.
Why Winterizing Your Hose Bib Matters
When you neglect to winterize your outdoor plumbing, any water left in the pipe can freeze. Because these lines are located on exterior walls, they are the most common parts of a plumbing system to freeze . When the ice thaws, you may be faced with a burst pipe that floods your basement or damages your walls. In fact, frozen pipe repair can cost anywhere from $200 to $300, but the resulting water damage can run into the thousands . Taking a few minutes now saves you a major headache later.
Step-by-Step Guide to Winterize Your Outdoor Faucet
You don't need to be a master plumber to get this done. Follow these five simple steps before the first hard freeze hits.
1. Disconnect and Store Garden Hoses
This is the most obvious step, but also the most crucial. Detach all hoses, splitters, and nozzles from the spigot. If you leave hoses attached, water gets trapped inside the faucet, making it impossible to drain completely . Drain the hoses completely and store them in a garage or shed to prolong their life .
2. Locate the Indoor Shut-Off Valve
To stop the water flow to the exterior, you need to find the indoor shut-off valve that controls that specific hose bibb. This is usually located in a basement, crawl space, or utility room near where the pipe exits the house . If you have multiple outdoor faucets, each should have its own corresponding valve. Turn this valve clockwise to shut it off.
3. Drain the Line
This is the most important part of winterizing hose bibbs. Go back outside and open the faucet handle fully. At first, a little water may trickle out, but it should eventually stop completely. This allows the water trapped in the pipe between the shut-off valve and the faucet to drain out . For added protection, leave the outdoor faucet open for the rest of the winter. This prevents any residual water from being trapped and freezing .
4. Install an Insulated Faucet Cover
Even if you have drained the line, adding an outdoor faucet cover provides an extra layer of insulation against wind chill and freezing air. You can find affordable foam hose bibb covers at any hardware store. These slip right over the spigot to block cold air from reaching the faucet body . For extreme cold snaps, you can even fill the inside of the cover with rags for added insulation .
5. Consider a Frost-Free Upgrade
If you live in an area with frigid winters or if your current setup continues to freeze, you might want to install frost-free hose bibbs. These are designed with a long stem that shuts the water off deep inside the house (where it is warm), rather than at the exterior wall. This allows the water to drain out of the pipe automatically, drastically reducing the risk of freezing .
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Waiting too late: Don't wait for the snow to fly. Winterize your spigots before temperatures dip below freezing for the first time .
Skipping the indoor valve: Simply covering the faucet outside isn't enough if the water is still on inside. The water in the pipe behind the wall is what usually freezes and bursts .
Forgetting to drain: If you shut off the indoor valve but don't open the outside faucet to drain it, the pipe will still have water trapped inside.
FAQ: Frost-Proof Spigots
Q: Do I need to winterize a frost-proof spigot?
A: Even if you have a frost-free model, it is still a good practice to disconnect hoses and ensure it can drain properly. While they drastically reduce the likelihood of bursts, throwing a cover on them for extra peace of mind is an inexpensive precaution .
Q: How can I tell if my spigot is frost-proof?
A: Look at the handle. If the handle is angled at 90 degrees from the house (parallel to the wall), it is likely a standard sillcock hose bibbs. Frost-free models usually have the handle on top of the faucet (perpendicular to the house) and the stem extends back into the wall .
By adding this simple task to your fall home maintenance checklist, you ensure that your outdoor plumbing survives the winter and is ready to go come spring!