How to Winterize Outdoor Faucets
When temperatures drop below freezing, water left in outdoor faucets and the pipes leading to them can freeze, expand, and burst—often inside your walls where you won't notice until the spring thaw causes catastrophic flooding. This essential fall task involves disconnecting all garden hoses, shutting off interior valves that supply outdoor faucets, draining residual water from the lines, and installing insulated faucet covers. Taking 20 minutes before the first freeze prevents water damage that can cost thousands to repair.
Cost to Skip This Task
Risk $1,000 – $15,000 in repairs
Why It Matters
A frozen outdoor faucet can burst the pipe inside your wall, causing thousands in water damage. Winterizing takes minutes but prevents catastrophic flooding. Complete winterization before the first hard freeze (temperatures below 28°F). In most northern climates, this means by late October or early November. If you have frost-free faucets, still disconnect hoses—a connected hose can trap water and cause freezing even in frost-free designs.
Safety First
- Turn off interior shutoff valves before disconnecting hoses
- Drain all water from hoses before storing to prevent cracking
What You'll Need
Supplies
- Insulated faucet covers (one per outdoor faucet)$8
Step-by-Step Instructions
Before You Start
Locate all outdoor faucets (hose bibs) and their interior shutoff valves. Do this before the first freeze of the season.
- 1
Disconnect all garden hoses from outdoor faucets
- 2
Drain hoses completely and store them indoors or in a heated space
- 3
Locate and close the interior shutoff valve for each outdoor faucet
These are usually in the basement or crawl space, on the pipe leading to each exterior faucet
- 4
Open the outdoor faucet to drain any remaining water in the pipe
- 5
Leave the outdoor faucet slightly open so any remaining water can expand without bursting
- 6
How to Verify Success
All hoses disconnected and stored. Interior valves closed. Outdoor faucets drained and covered with insulated covers.
When to Call a Professional
- Cannot locate interior shutoff valves (plumber $100-200 to locate and label)
- Pipes have already frozen (emergency thawing $200-500, burst pipe repair $500-2000)
- You have frost-free faucets that are leaking (repair/replacement $150-400)
This guide is part of:
Never forget this task again
taskdwell automatically schedules and reminds you when it's time.