Hose Bib Covers Before the First Hard Freeze

Every winter, plumbers get the same call: water pouring into a basement or finished wall the first time someone turns on the outside faucet in spring. The pipe froze and split in January. Nobody knew until the spring thaw.

Here's how to prevent it, in about 15 minutes per faucet.

011. Disconnect the hose

A hose left attached traps water in the faucet. When it freezes, it can split the pipe, even on a "frost-free" faucet. Take the hose off, drain it, and store it.

022. Shut off and drain (regular faucets)

Many older homes have a separate shutoff valve inside for each outdoor faucet, usually in the basement near where the pipe goes through the wall.

1. Close the inside shutoff valve.
2. Open the outside faucet to let the water drain out.
3. If the inside valve has a little drain cap, open it over a bucket to drain the section of pipe between them.
4. Leave the outside faucet open a bit over the winter.

033. Frost-free faucets

Frost-free (freeze-proof) faucets shut the water off well inside the warm wall. They work, if:

• The hose is disconnected.
• They're installed sloping slightly down to the outside, so water drains out.

Turn it on and off once. Water should drain out of the spout for a few seconds after you shut it.

044. Add a cover

An insulated hose bib cover (foam dome or insulated bag) adds protection, especially on north walls and in exposed spots. They're cheap. Put them on after you've drained the faucet.

055. Sprinkler systems

If you have an irrigation system, blow it out before the hard freeze. That's a separate job, and many people hire it out.

06During an outage

A long winter outage with no heat puts indoor pipes at risk too. See frozen pipes during an outage and keep one room warm.

07Know your main shutoff

If a pipe does burst, you need to find the main water shutoff fast. Find it now, tag it, and make sure everyone in the house knows where it is and how to turn it.

Do this on the same Saturday you start the generator and test the CO alarms.