Get your hose bid ready for winter with these professional tips. Prepping your outdoor plumbing for winter prevents unexpected pipe leaks and makes sure that your outdoor hoses are ready when spring returns. Follow these easy steps to winterize your home’s outdoor hose bibs.
Find the Hose Bib’s Shut-Off in Your Home
The most common areas of the home that houses this valve are the basement, crawl space, or utility room. Once you locate the indoor valve, turn it off. Does your home have more than one outdoor hose bid? If yes, you need to find the individual shut-off valves for each one. Once you locate these, turn them off.
Detach Hoses from Outdoor Spigots
Keeping the outdoor hoses attached to the hose bid during the winter is a big no-no. Even if you have the water turned off to the hose bid, it’s still possible that there is leftover water in the hoses. When the temperatures dip below freezing, this water freezes and can damage the garden hose and, more importantly, the hose bid. Once you’ve detached the garden hose, don’t leave it outside. Bring it into a heated garage or your basement to protect it from freezing and turning brittle in the cold.
Turn Outdoor Faucets to the On Position
When you have the water turned off to the hose bid, go outside and turn the faucets to the on position. This small action goes a long way toward protecting the outdoor hose bibs from freezing. Leaving the faucets open for winter is a plumber’s #1 tip for protecting water pipes from freezing temperatures.
Consider Frost-Proof Hose Bibs
Are you someone who tends to forget about winterizing your outdoor plumbing? If so, this product is a great idea addition to your home’s plumbing. Frost-proof hose bibs resist cracking and freezing during the winter. While it’s still a good idea to apply the techniques mentioned above, the beauty of frost-proof hose bibs is that it takes the protection one step further. The hose bid prevents any unheated remaining water to stay in the outdoor water supply. Contact a local plumber to help you install a frost-proof hose bib.
Why You Need to Winterize Your Outdoor Plumbing
Even if your region only experiences a handful of below-freezing days, that’s all it takes for major damage to happen. All it takes is one quick cold snap to cause pipes to freeze and hose bibs to break. Too often homeowners don’t realize that their outdoor plumbing is compromised. They continue to go about their days and don’t realize there’s a problem until broken hose bid starts leaking and the water gets into foundation cracks.
If You Need Help with Hose Bib Weatherization
Call local plumbers to assist you with this straightforward plumbing weatherization task. If you already have an annual plumbing maintenance plan, make sure that hose bid weatherization is included. Contact experienced, local plumbers at The Pink Plumber to keep your home water-tight and protect against unexpected pipe burst and other emergency plumbing services.
