Winterizing Outdoor Faucets and Garden Hoses

Why the hose comes off first

The most common first-timer mistake is leaving the hose attached. Even a frost-free sillcock only protects itself by draining the water out of its long stem. A connected hose blocks that drain and holds water right where the freeze hits. The split usually happens inside the wall, so you won't see it until you turn the tap on in April and water pours into the basement. So the hose comes off first, then you deal with the faucet, then the cover goes on last. A cover over a faucet that still has a hose or trapped water does nothing.

Know which faucet you have

Frost-free: the valve body is 6–12 in (15–30 cm) long and sits inside the wall. From the basement or crawlspace, you'll see the supply pipe meet a long brass tube running out through the wall. These need no indoor shutoff. Disconnect the hose and confirm the faucet drains: turn it on, shut it off, and it should dribble for a few seconds. If it doesn't dribble, it may be installed level instead of sloping slightly down to the outside, so it won't drain itself. Treat it like a standard spigot if it has an indoor valve, and mention it to a plumber or your landlord.

Standard spigot (UK: outside tap): this is a short faucet with the valve right at the wall. Find its indoor shutoff. It is usually within a few feet behind the spigot, on a basement ceiling, behind an access panel, or (in the UK) often under the kitchen sink. Look for a valve with a small brass bleeder cap on its side.

To drain a standard spigot, work in this order:

• Close the indoor valve.
• Open the outdoor faucet and leave it open all winter. This lets air in from outside. Without it, water stays held in the pipe like liquid in a sipping straw with your finger over the top.
• Unscrew the bleeder cap over a bucket to let the trapped section empty, then refit the cap.

Renters: ask the landlord where the shutoff is before you go hunting, and don't take a wrench to anything. Underground sprinkler or irrigation lines are a separate job that needs blowing out, so this routine doesn't cover them.

Where to save time and where not to

• Save time on the hoses. Don't wait for them to drip dry. Lay each one out straight, ideally downhill, then lift one end to shoulder height and walk it hand-over-hand toward the other end. Water shoots out ahead of you, and a 50 ft (15 m) hose empties in about 3 minutes.
• Spend time on the shutoff. Confirm the outdoor faucet actually stops flowing once the indoor valve is closed. A trickle that stops within a minute or two is just the pipe emptying. A steady stream means the valve isn't sealing.
• Buy foam faucet covers early. Get them in September or early October. Hardware stores sell out the day a freeze warning hits the local news.

How to tell it's done

• ☐ No hose, splitter, timer, or nozzle is left on any outdoor faucet.
• ☐ Battery hose timers are drained and their batteries removed.
• ☐ Standard spigots are left open and run dry, with the indoor valve closed.
• ☐ Nothing is dripping at the indoor valve or bleeder cap the next morning.
• ☐ A cover is snug against the wall on every spigot.
• ☐ Hoses are coiled and stored in a garage, shed, or basement, out of the sun.