September doesn’t mean the immediate end of summer and the first blast of cold weather. In fact, September can often be quite warm. But it is the time when we recommend you start to prepare your home for the cold weather ahead: getting the work done now will save you immense headaches later on.
An important job to protect your plumbing from the cold is to winterize the outdoor hose bibs. It doesn’t take long, but it can save you on expensive trouble later on.
Steps for winterizing hose bibs
- First, remove anything that’s connected to the outside faucet. If you leave the hose connected to the faucet during the winter, trapped water will cause the faucet to freeze and the pipes to break.
- Check for any leaks. If there’s water dripping from the faucet, no matter how small the problem may seem, it can cause fixture freeze over the winter. Call a professional plumber to handle fixing this leak during the early fall.
- Drain the pipes to get as much water as you can out of them. If it’s possible, shut off the water to the line and open the faucet to release the water.
- Insulate the outdoor faucet. There are a number of methods to see that the faucet has proper protection from the cold, but the easiest way is to put a special cover over the fixture. This insulation is made of thick foam and will do the necessary job of trapping heat and keeping the cold out. You can find hose bibs at most stores that offer home improvements. Replace older covers every few years.
If you require repairs for your outdoor faucet, contact our plumbers any time. They are also available for general maintenance tasks that will see that all of your home’s plumbing is ready for the coming winter.
Mallick Plumbing & Heating is the plumbing service contractor of choice in Silver Spring, MD and Montgomery County.