With cold weather within sight, it can become quite easy for one to be negligent in the preparation of the home before the onset of winter. That also calls for a closer look at your outdoor faucets. Indeed, if an outdoor faucet is not properly winterized, frozen pipes and burst hoses surely happen-with very costly plumbing repairs after that. This article will take you through some basic steps that have to be followed as a way of protecting your outdoor faucets from the harsh conditions brought by winter.
Why Winterizing Outdoor Faucets is Important
Outside faucets-or hose bibs-are exposed to the elements and can easily freeze. If left with water in the faucet or attached hose during a freeze, water can expand pipes and cause them to crack and leak. If an outside faucet bursts (nf), there is a good chance of water damage not only to your landscaping but also to the inside of your home.
A few simple precautions before the first freeze will save you many dollars in expensive repairs. Moreover, it will also keep your plumbing intact through those unbearable cold winter months. Winterizing outdoor faucets to save you from major headaches fortunately is pretty easy.
Step 1: Disconnect Garden Hoses
First things first, disconnect all garden hoses from the outdoor faucets. Leaving hoses attached during winter to an outdoor faucet traps water inside of it; this therefore freezes and causes damage in its way; water may stay inside the hose and expand when frozen, this exerts pressure on the faucet and connected pipes. This might have cracks on both the faucet and the hose, thus leaks and costly repairs might arise.
Let the water drain from the hose when the hose is off by setting it on an angle. Store the hose in a warm and non-humid place; this will be a help in making sure it does not freeze or crack. This precautionary measure is necessary because a small amount of water may have remained inside the hose and create huge damage.
Steps 2: Drain the Outdoor Faucets
These hoses now being disconnected, water residual in the faucet itself would need to be drained. The shut-off valve for the water feeding the outdoor faucet is usually inside your home, near the wall to which the faucet mounts. Such a valve controls water feeding the outdoor faucet and can be turned to ensure water will not stay inside the faucet during winter.
With the valve now off, turn the outdoor faucet on with the purpose of draining residual water inside the pipe. This will prevent water standing inside the faucet from freezing, which might cause damage. Let the faucet run a little to get all the water out of the pipe.
Step 3: Insulate the Faucet
You can also consider insulating the faucets against freezing. This insulated faucet cover or even an insulated foam sleeve over the faucets, which is very much available in most hardware stores, keeps the faucets from getting cold in freezing winter weather conditions. These covers will just fit over the faucets for added protection against freezing temperature.
Installation is the simplest of just slipping it onto your faucet and screwing into place. A really excellent way to prevent freezing, insulation will keep it away from extreme cold temperatures. Inexpensive, ultra-easy to install and it will prolong dramatically the life of your out of door faucets from the attacks of cold winter temperatures.
Step 4: Make Use of Frost-Free Faucet
If you live in an area where it is not uncommon for your faucets to freeze, consider updating to frost-free models. As their name goes, frost-free faucets are designed not to let water freeze inside a faucet and pipe. This works because it has a long stem which extends inside the interior of your house, where water remains above the frozen temperatures. That’s the working of that simple principle: a shut valve allows water to run off from a pipe such that no water is left in there to freeze.
A little investment, frost-free faucets save more money for you over time through reduction in the damages to plumbing, keeps away the need for winterizing every year. Putting frost free faucets by a local plumber on call is an advisable thing if building/ renovating a house.
Step 5: Leak Testing
Winter is coming. Time to do some leak testing of outdoor faucets, because any small leak in any faucet becomes a big problem once the weather freezes. If you find drips, or any evidence of wear you may want to replace the faucet before the weather turns cold. You prevent water from escaping and then freezing inside the faucet either by replacing washers or by tightening up loose connections.
A little checkup now can save you from major, more expensive repairs later on. Besides, delays in having leaks fixed may also mean that a drop in temperature could mean your pipes freeze and, therefore, create massive water damage that then becomes very costly to repair.
Step 6: Shut Off Water Supply to Outdoor Faucets
Besides having it in your faucet and allowing water to simply drain, the only sensible thing would have been to assure water supply to your faucets outdoors being fully turned off. It is, as a fact goes, of high importance, especially when you are living in a place receiving winters at their coldest. It reduces probabilities that water might be kept behind the pipes; thus, it reduces probabilities of freezing of pipes consequently and pipe bursts.
If you’re unsure where the shut-off valve is located, consult your home’s plumbing plans or contact a plumber for assistance. Turning off the water supply is a simple but effective way to protect your outdoor faucets and plumbing system.
Step 7: Consider a Professional Inspection
If you are not sure how to go about the winterization process with your outdoor faucets or are simply a resident of a very cold region, then it’s always advisable to resort to an expert plumber who may do an in-depth analysis with your plumbing. He could then adequately protect the outdoor faucets against the oncoming winter season and check up on other areas which can easily cause freezing or damage during that season.
Such a check by the 24×7 professional plumbing pros can keep your head clear because this way, your plumbing system is fully guarded against cold in winters.
Conclusion
Winterization of the outdoor faucets is amongst the primary protections to be accorded to your house during bad weather. This, on its part, will serve to avoid frozen pipes and expensive repairs through some simple processes of disconnecting hoses, draining faucet, installing insulation, or shut-off supply of water to faucet. The beautiful thing is that it saves one time, money, and stress when outdoor faucets are prepared for cold weather. In other words, once they are through with the processes, it will not bother them. Let us winterize your outdoor faucet today and get you free from this worry.
