The leak you don't see until spring
Here's how it usually goes. The hose stays on the spigot after the last fall watering. A cold night comes, the water trapped inside freezes and expands, and a pipe splits inside the wall. Nothing happens all winter, because the water is off at the spigot. Then in April someone turns it on for the first time, and the basement starts to flood.
The fix takes about 10 minutes, and the most important step costs nothing.
When to do it: In a typical year, Fairfield's first freeze arrives in early November. In about one year out of ten, it comes by late October (NOAA normals for Bridgeport, via FrostList). A mild weekend in the next couple of weeks is the perfect time.
Shut off your outdoor faucets in 4 steps
See it done in under two minutes, then follow the steps below.
Take the hose off. Also remove splitters, timers, and quick-connects. Drain the hose and store it. This one step prevents most outdoor faucet freeze breaks (Plumbinguide).
Close the inside valve. Look on the inside of the same wall, in the basement or crawl space, close to where the pipe goes outside. It's a small valve on the line heading toward the spigot. Turn it off.
Open the outdoor faucet and let it drain. You'll get a short gush, then a trickle. If the inside valve has a small bleeder cap, put a bucket under it and open it to drain the last bit, then close the cap again (Farmers' Almanac).
Leave the outdoor faucet open all winter, so any leftover water has room to expand.
Got a "frost-free" faucet? That's the kind with a long stem reaching into the wall. It doesn't need draining, but the hose still has to come off. A hose left attached traps water and can split it inside the wall (Farmers' Almanac).
Add a faucet cover. For extra protection on the coldest nights, slip a foam faucet cover over each outdoor spigot. It takes seconds to put on and lasts season after season. A cover helps, but it doesn't replace taking the hose off and draining the line.
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Can't find the valve? Call a plumber.
If there's no inside valve, the spigot drips after you shut it, or you just don't want to crawl around the basement, this is a quick job for a plumber. You'll find Bill Curran Plumbing in our contractor directory. Tap the red Request button, tell him what you need and when, and your request goes straight to him.
Pull the hose off this weekend. Your April self will thank you.
Need somebody else?
Every contractor in our directory now has a red Request button. Tell them what you need and when, and your request goes straight to them.
Contractors: first three months are free, no credit card required. fairfieldtownandtrade.com/get-listed
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Fairfield weather this week
Wed: Sunny, 60°
Thu: Sunny, 62°
Fri: Sunny, 54°
Sat: Sunny, 57°
Sun: Sunny, 62°
Forecast: National Weather Service
See you next week.
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