4 Steps to Prevent Your Hose Bib From Freezing

11/20/2023 (Permalink)

4 Steps to Prevent Your Hose Bib From Freezing

Winter is coming, and it's time to start getting prepared. Some things are unpredictable and therefore, tough to prepare for like fallen trees after a storm, but other things are in your control. As your water damage repair company, SERVPRO® can help you avoid problems during the winter such as keeping your hose bib from freezing.

Four steps to Prevent Your Hose Bib From Freezing:

1. Turn Off Water to Your Whole House

Your home has a main water pipe that supplies every faucet and pipe with running water. Find this main water pipe and turn the valve as far as it will go. Most valves should either have an on/off arrow marking to show you the correct direction or should be turned clockwise to shut them off.

2. Drain Your Outdoor Faucet

Once you've shut off the main supply of water, you want to get the remaining water out of the hose and faucet outside. Simply turn the faucet fully on, with a bucket beneath it, and allow all remaining water to flow out.

3. Turn Off Water to Your Outdoor Faucet

Locate the pipe that leads from your main water supply to the outdoor faucet or faucets. Usually, this pipe is located near the ceiling rather than near the floor, like your main valve, and should be just inside the wall from where your faucet comes out on the exterior.

If you have faucets on two or more sides of the house, make sure you get all the valves leading to each one. As with the main valve, either follow the on/off arrows or turn the valve clockwise. This will ensure that once you turn the main water supply back on, no water goes to the pipe or pipes leading outdoors.

4. Turn Your Main Water Valve Back On and Check

Keep a bucket under your outdoor faucet and, ideally, have a friend there to watch it while you turn the main water supply back on. If you did everything right, water will now flow to all other pipes but won't be coming out of the outdoor faucet/s. You should now be protected from any water damage caused by frozen pipes.

Why Is It Important to Protect Your Hose Bib?

The pipes in your house are generally protected from freezing by your home's heating system. You might have noticed, however, that smaller pipes running very close to exterior walls can freeze up on a really cold night, and the outdoor faucets are even more at risk.

They're simply too exposed, and once the water thaws again, you're liable to have extensive water damage issues because water and metal respond differently to cold. Water molecules expand as they freeze, but metal molecules retract. In other words, the pipe is getting "smaller" while the water is getting "larger," and that can break your pipes.

Reach Out to SERVPRO for Help

If you forgot to winterize your hose bib, need help figuring out what to do, or have experienced a water or storm emergency, we offer 24-hour service to protect your home and restore your structure and belongings. Remember that the longer you wait, the more you risk losing. Contact SERVPRO of Coeur d'Alene immediately if you need help.