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Winterizing outdoor faucets

10/09/2014

Winter is just around the corner, and that’s why you should start making winter maintenance preparations for your home now. First of all, protect your outdoor faucets. There is no need to turn on those faucets in winter since you won’t use them to water plants when it is freezing outside. Proper protection of the outdoor faucets will ensure they will not freeze during the winter.

The following simple steps won’t take much time and will save you a lot of money and inconveniences in the future.

  1. Disconnection – It is very important to remove hoses (freeze proof or not), splitters or connections from the spigot during the winter. Hoses or any other connections not removed from the hose bib can trap water and definitely cause the faucet to freeze. It’s best to get ahead of the cold weather by disconnecting hoses early, because even one night of freezing weather is enough to break the pipes.
  2. InspectionLeak detection and repair is another important step in preparing your outdoor faucets for winter. All hose bibs, yard hydrants and other fixtures must be checked for leaks and drips. If there are any leaks or drips found, call our plumbing pros to repair or replace the fixture before the temperature drops to freezing.
  3. Draining – Getting as much water as you can out of the pipes is the third step to winterize your outdoor faucets. A hose bib line that is not freeze proof must be shut off, if possible, and drained down. If you cannot isolate the water supply to the hose bib to turn it off, be sure to use extra insulation in the next step.
  4. Protection – The last step to winterize outdoor faucets is to protect them with insulation. The best way to achieve efficient results is to install a hose bib cover on each outdoor faucet. Hose bib covers are shaped in such a way that they fit right over outdoor faucets and are made of thick foam, so they are quite effective at protecting the valve from cold. Regular hose bibs that cannot be drained, must be covered using extra insulation. However, in most cases the hose bib cover itself provides enough insulation.
    Frost free outdoor faucets should be covered as well because in spite of their resistance to freezing, they are not entirely frost proof in the coldest weather. Hose bib covers are found in most hardware stores, they are not expensive and easy to install. Covers can normally be reused for a couple years so they are a good investment. Spending just a few dollars per fixture can winterize outside faucets promptly and efficiently.

You can contact our team of experts for more information on how to protect your outdoor faucets in winter.

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