With winter knocking on everyone’s door this weekend; now is a great time to put away hoses and winterize your outdoor faucets/spigots.
Hoses left out to the elements can quickly freeze and bust. Outdoor faucets or commonly referred to as spigots can also freeze causing the supply water pipes to burst. A burst pipe can cause thousands of dollars in repairs and is easily preventable.
Winterizing Hoses:
- Drain
- Roll up – PRO TIP: Screw the male and female ends of the hose together after draining and rolling up to prevent any remaining water from leaking.
- Store out of the elements in a garage, shed, or basement.
Winterizing Outdoor Faucets:
- Close off the supply valve that provides water to your outdoor pipe supplying the outdoor faucet. (Most homes have a separate outdoor water supply valve close to the location of the outdoor pipe.)
- Drain the remaining water out of the outdoor pipe and outdoor faucet.
- Close the outdoor faucet valve.
- If you do not have a separate outdoor water supply valve that you can shut off. Cover the faucet and exposed pipe with an insulating material, cover with plastic, then secure in place with duct tape.
- Make sure the interior and outdoor pipes are thoroughly insulated.
- If you are unable to insulate the outdoor faucet with insulating material; your local hardware store sells insulated faucet protectors that encapsulate the entire outdoor faucet.
