It may still feel like winter is far off here in Seattle, but there is no better time than fall to winterize your outdoor faucets. No one wants to discover that their pipes outside have burst; the damage can be difficult to fix in the cold winter months, and these repairs can be costly. Depending on the style of faucet you have outside your home, this process can be surprisingly easy. Today on the blog we’ll go over some of the simple ways to ensure your outdoor faucets are winterized.
When is the best time to winterize your outdoor faucet?
In the Seattle area, we recommend that you winterize your faucet in October. However, if you’re reading this and it’s December, don’t be afraid to follow these steps. As they say, better late than never!
What happens if I don’t winterize my faucet?
If water is left in the copper pipe of your outdoor faucet, this liquid is prone to freezing when the weather gets cold. When this happens, the water expands, and oftentimes the pipe bursts. You probably won’t notice this during the winter. But, when summer arrives and you turn on the faucet to wash your car or water plants, water will leak out of the burst pipe instead of flowing steadily out of your faucet. You might see water behind your house, and your dry wall can get wet, which can cause damage to the exterior of your home.
Steps to Winterize Your Faucet
Winterizing your exterior faucet or Hose Bibb is fairly simple.
If you have a frost-free Hose Bibb:
- Unscrew the hose from the faucet.
- Be sure that all water drains out onto the ground.
- You’re done! If you would like to see a handy visual guide on how to do this, check out our video above.
If you do not have a frost-free Hose Bibb, be sure to get a foam dome, and maybe wrap the faucet with a sock underneath the foam dome.
We generally recommend that all homeowners have frost-free Hose Bibbs installed if they are concerned about pipes bursting during the winter. Contact Best Plumbing today if you are interested in having this installation complete on your home.
Be sure to check out our blog and Youtube channel for more useful plumbing and sewer tips!
