To winterize outdoor faucets, turn off the water and use faucet covers to protect your pipes. This simple process saves money on your energy bill and prevents your pipes from bursting.
Before Halloween each year, I make it a point to winterize our outdoor faucet as part of our seasonal routine in Pennsylvania. This timing is crucial since we’ve experienced below-freezing temps and snow on Halloween. Since our faucet has to withstand single-digit temperatures, ice, and snow throughout winter, this is an important step in preparing my home for winter.
For a comprehensive take on how to winterize your whole home before the winter chill arrives, check out the following articles:
| Project Difficulty: Beginner Estimated Time to Complete: Depending on how many faucets you need to winterize, no more than 30 minutes. To replace your existing spigot, schedule an appointment with a pro. Costs Involved: Styrofoam faucet covers typically cost around $7, while freeze-proof faucets cost around $50 (labor not included). |
Supplies Needed to Winterize Outdoor Faucets
- Wrench (in case the valves are hard to turn)
- Work gloves (not a necessity, but can help with your grip)
- Bucket (for indoors when you shut off the water)
- Insulated faucet covers (one for each faucet). If you have a dog that chews, purchase the plastic ones rather than the styrofoam ones.
- WD-40 (if you need to loosen up the valve)
Safety Considerations for Winterizing Outdoor Faucets
Preparing your outdoor faucets for winter is a simple process, but it’s important to prioritize safety to avoid any injuries or accidents. By being aware of potential hazards, you can make the task much more manageable.
Check out these important safety tips:
- Timing: Winterizing your outdoor faucets must be completed before the first frost. If you wait until winter, your pipes might have frozen water.
- Be careful around water and electricity: If your outdoor faucet is near electrical outlets, always be cautious when draining the faucet or using water nearby.
- Wear work gloves: While not a necessity, work gloves improve your grip while managing tools or outdoor faucet covers.
Steps to Winterize an Outdoor Faucet
To winterize your outdoor spigot, you’ll need to disconnect the hose, turn off the water supply to the faucet, and drain the line. Finally, insulate the faucet to ensure it’s protected against the cold. Let’s get started.
- Disconnect, Drain, and Store Your Hose
- Disconnect: Disconnect the hose from your outdoor faucet to gain access to the hose bib.
- Drain: Once the hose has been disconnected, it’s time to drain all the water out. If your hose is an older-style rigid hose, it will take more effort to drain than the newer crinkle hoses.
- Store: The best location to store the hose is in a shed or garage protected from winter conditions. The hose can crack and become damaged if left outdoors.
My Tip: I prefer to drape our older rigid garden hose over the 4-foot chain link fence. It’s the ideal height for draining any water in the hose.
- Inspect Outdoor Faucets for Leaks
With the garden hose now disconnected, you can access the outdoor spigot to inspect it for leaks or drips. Even a slow drip can freeze within the pipe or fixture.
Examine the area closely for signs of water dripping or pooling around the faucet’s base, along the connecting pipe, or on the ground nearby. If you identify a leak, try tightening the packing nut around the handle or replacing any worn washers in the faucet, then check for leaks again.
If the problem persists, it’s best to hire a local plumber to address the issue before winter arrives.
- Shut Off the Water Supply
Shutting off the water supply to the outdoor spigot creates a barrier, protecting the water line from freezing temperatures. This barrier allows any remaining water in the outdoor portion of the pipe to drain out, minimizing the chance of freezing and potential damage.
Locate the water valve: To get your outdoor faucet ready for winter, start by locating the water supply valve for that faucet. Typically, this valve is on the interior wall of your house, directly behind the faucet itself. It will either be a gate valve (wheel-shaped handle) or a ball valve (lever-shaped handle).
Turn off the valve:
- Gate valve: To stop the water flow to the spigot, rotate the gate shut-off valve clockwise until it no longer turns. If it’s tough to turn by hand, use a lubricating spray such as WD-40 and assist with an adjustable wrench.
- Ball valve: For the ball valve, make a quarter turn clockwise until it’s perpendicular to the water pipe to halt the flow. This lever-style shut-off valve usually remains easy to operate, so you shouldn’t encounter any issues turning it off by hand.
What to do if you can’t find the water shut-off valve:
If you’ve checked your basement, crawl space, and the area around the water heater but still can’t find the shut-off valve, it’s time to contact your water company or a plumber.
Older homes may not have a dedicated shut-off valve for outdoor faucets. If not, a plumber can create one. As a last resort, you (or the water company) can turn off the water at the street long enough for you to drain the spigot.
My water supply valve: The water supply valve for our outdoor faucet is wheel-shaped and located in the basement, just above the dryer near the ceiling. It’s tough to access since I have to climb onto the dryer to reach it, as a ladder won’t fit. So, I must turn it there to stop the water flow to our outdoor faucet.
Photo Credit: Harley Grandone
- Drain Outdoor Spigot
Once you’ve turned off the water supply valve to the outdoor faucet, head outside and open up the outdoor spigot. This will let any leftover water in the pipes drain out. If water doesn’t pour out right away, don’t stress; it might trickle out slowly.
Let all the water empty from the spigot. It might take a few minutes depending on how long those pipes are and their setup.
Once it seems like the water has stopped, leave the spigot open for a little longer. It is super important to ensure no water remains in the line that could freeze later.
- Shut Off the Outdoor Faucets
Once all the water has drained from the outdoor faucet, turn the handle clockwise to shut it off. This step will help keep cold air from getting into your home’s spigot and water pipes.
- Install an Outdoor Faucet Cover
Photo Credit: Harley Grandone
The final step for getting your outdoor spigot ready for winter is to give it some insulation. This protects the spigot and the pipes leading to the outdoor faucet. While it won’t keep the spigot toasty, it helps ensure it doesn’t get so cold that it will freeze.
My Tip: We use an insulated styrofoam faucet cover for our outdoor spigot. It effectively insulates our faucet here in Pennsylvania, where freeze and thaw cycles are common, and keeps melting ice and snow away.
Check out the video below to see how you can install an insulated faucet cover on your outdoor spigot.
Alternative Ways to Winterize Outdoor Faucets
If insulated faucet covers aren’t available, you have other options to winterize your outdoor faucets: faucet sleeves or water socks, the “drip your faucet” method, and freeze-proof faucets. Each of these solutions can be effective depending on your location and the regulations in your city.
Faucet Sleeves/Water Socks
Faucet sleeves and water socks are designed a bit differently than those hard insulated faucet covers, but they all have the same goal: keeping your pipes and outdoor faucet safe from freezing temps.
Faucet sleeves are made of a flexible, insulated material that can handle the elements. They wrap right around the faucet and use velcro straps to stay put. On the other hand, water socks look like cozy little drawstring bags — like sachet bags for potpourri or jewelry. You just slide one over the faucet and pull the drawstrings to tighten it up.
Drip Your Faucets (Follow Local Guidelines)
“Dripping your faucets” means letting your indoor and outdoor faucets drip to help prevent frozen pipes, ice dams, and potential damage. This is more commonly used for indoor faucets, but in a pinch, you can drip outdoor faucets as well. This is a better strategy for homes with a few nights of freezing temps (common in the South) rather than for homes in the North.
But every city has its own rules and recommendations. For example, Houston Public Works instructs residents not to leave taps running, as this could reduce water pressure in Houston’s unique system. However, in many cities, dripping indoor and outdoor faucets is recommended. So, check with your municipality for the best course of action.
If you live in a condo, check the governing documents, or ask the HOA what they recommend. Don’t forget your insurance company as well.
Caution: If you wrap or insulate your outdoor faucets, don’t drip them.
See Related: How to Keep Your Home’s Pipes from Freezing
Use Freeze-Proof Faucets
Freeze-proof faucets have a longer spigot and a downward-sloping angled design for easier drainage. The valve can be found farther back into the house’s interior, which is still warm.
There is a drainage hole near the valve handle to help eliminate leftover water when turned off.
The video below shows the differences between a regular vs. frost-free outdoor faucet.
FAQ
How Do You Winterize Sprinkler Systems?
Preparing your outdoor sprinkler system for winter is as essential as caring for your faucets. If you skip this step, the leftover water in the pipes can freeze and expand, which could crack or burst them. So, here is the basic process:
- Shut off the water supply
- Blow out any leftover water
- Cover up any exposed outdoor pipes
If you don’t feel comfortable winterizing your sprinkler/irrigation system, feel free to contact your local irrigation company for help. However, if you’d like to learn more, check out this article: How to Winterize Your Sprinkler System.
How Do You Winterize the Rest of Your House?
This article focuses only on how to winterize outdoor faucets. However, as winter approaches, there are several other tasks that require your attention, such as weatherproofing windows and insulating pipes. Check out these articles:
Prevent Freezing Pipes by Winterizing Outdoor Faucets
Taking the necessary steps to care for your outdoor faucets, including disconnecting the hose and storing it, turning off the water, and insulating your outdoor faucets will help prevent freezing and potential damage to your plumbing.
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