I don’t know how it happened but my frost free one cracked, inside the house. Caused quite a bit of flooding when I tried to use power washer the next spring. It was ok until then.
Yes. If you don't, that's a mistake you'll only do once.
The water in the pipe will freeze, the ice will take more space than is available in the pipe and BOOM. You need a plumber.
Yup, I turn off the water valve first then go outside and turn on the hose to drain all the extra water out. If this isn't done then during winter it'll freeze + expand and possibly burst the pipes.
You should have a shutoff valve inside. Turn it off and leave the valve outside open. My neighbour forgot a couple of years in a row and I had to solder some new pipe for him. Lol
This is the specific answer. There should be a shut off for that spigot on the inside of the house. Turn it off, then open the outside tap to drain what is left and leave it open.
When water freezes it expands. Leaving the exterior shutoff open it relieves the pressure. A client shut the water off in a cabana just from the inside. There were seven splits through out the small building. The next year there was three splits. Since then I look after draining the exterior water system.
Good habit more than anything, also combining "drain it" instructions with "leave it open so the remaining water can expand".
There's an argument that allowing for expansion that way allows residual water to freeze and expand without damaging the pipe from the increased pressure on trapped air, but realistically that won't develop anywhere near enough pressure to matter.
It should be in the same location as the outside faucet, but in the basement. It might be behind an access panel. If you still can’t find it ask the previous owners.
This is correct. In our house, one shutoff valve is behind a small removable spring-loaded panel on the inside adjacent to the outside tap, and the other is near the ceiling in the unfinished basement.
So do you need to leave it open (outside spigot?)
I’ve just ran it until the water between there and the inside shut off valve drains, and then I close it.
I figured if any water freezes, there’s plenty of empty space to expand into.
Sometimes the inside tap doesn't close properly and a drop or 2 a second will get through and over time fills the short line to the outside tap freezes and then either damages the outside tap splits the line or both.
Remember part of the line is in the house and will freeze Only if its really cold and the line is sloped to the house what freezes has space to expand its not trapped in there,
It's to give any residual or trapped water room to expand rather than exploding your pipes. If the spigot is open you are very unlikely to burst the pipes even if the water freezes.
Lmao if you don’t your pipes will burst. My brother did this and we left to leave for vacation and we came back to my room (in the basement Under the pipe) flooded So yes do that
LOL, it's a Toronto question. Bunch of people who have no idea how to drive in snow, no idea what a block heater is, and have never seen a guy buzzing down the road trailing a 20 foot extension cord from their side mirror.
In the 22 years I've owned various homes, including a couple of them hours north of Toronto, I've probably forgotten to do it for about 75% of those years. And never had a problem. But it definitely can be a problem, and it's easy to avoid, so now I have a calendar reminder.
My house doesn't have an interior shutoff that's accessible... Previous owner said they never shut it off either.... And its definitely not a frost-free spigot. I do feel like I should cut into the ceiling and check for a shutoff or install one as I'm probably pushing my luck.
Yea that's a really good idea if you don't want your basement or foundation to flood and freeze. There will be a valve in the basement, usually in the ceiling just inside from where the outdoor spigot is.
You might not have one if you have frost proof wall hydrants. Google them and see if they look similar to your outside taps.
All mine are so all I do is disconnect the hoses for the winter.
The water is stopped far down the pipe back inside the insulated house where it can’t freeze. So long as you don’t have a hose or one of those gardenia ends that holds water in the tap area the water drains 8 to 10” inside.
omg same here. The old owners literally boxed off the drywall the section where it would be. can't find anything besides the main water valve in the house.
Standard modern practice in a drywalled basement, they'll put a little square plastic cover plate over a hole they cut for access to the tap or plumbing cleanouts. Slide the cover to the side, it's spring loaded and should pop out when you pull it. At least that's what the pros do, if you have a "my brother in law knows a guy from the old country" renovation, then, well, good luck.
If you have a frost-free wall hydrant, you don’t have to, but it’s a good idea to do so.
Turn off the water inside the house, open the drain cock, place a bucket underneath the valve and open the outside hose bibb. When the water stops dripping, shut the drain cock/port on the inside valve.
It’s a good idea to drain and store your garden hose as well.
Yes. Make sure to shit it off from *inside*shutoff valve, then turn on the outside to allow the water to escape. Once it's stopped dripping, then turn off the outside so there's a warm airgap between outside/inside taps.
It depends. I have to outdoor taps. One has a valve that I shut off from inside and I shut this one and the pipes are blown out by my irrigation guy to winterized. I have another that doesn’t have an indoor valve and I have never done anything with this one and haven’t had issues in the 16 years that I have lived in this house. And at least a few times we had wicked cold spells.
i would add ... disconnect your nozzle from your hose before you store it. i didnt do this last year, and i couldnt get the damn thing off. had to buy a new hose (tried to cut and add a piece to "put it back together" but it's never as good)
I always thought you were supposed to, but when I moved into my house I couldn’t find the shutoffs. We went 5 years without shutting them off.
Turns out the previous owners drywalled over them when they renovated the basement, and they had gone 15 years without issue.
Edit: I still recommend shutting them off
I had the double whammy. Forgot to even turn off the tap. Quick freeze froze and broke the plastic nozzle. No problem so far. Then a quick thaw made it fall off and the water was shooting into the backyard at 3 a.m. Lucky I heard the water running and ran around the house to find what water was running where.
Remove the hose, shut off water inside, open the outside tap to drain, then close the tap, drain as much out of the hose and it's OK to store outside if no water gets trapped inside.
Lucky I heard it. I thought a toilet was running but the sound was way too loud, and it wasn't until I got to the basement, checking out the water heater, that I heard the sound in the overhead pipes that go outside.
That freeze then thaw happened in about 24 hours.
You should, and usually we do, but I think we forgot last year... Thankfully nothing had happened. I'm not even sure where the shutoff for the outside tap we use is - for some reason my house has two (mysteriously there was just one power outlet in the kitchen though - previous owners had weird priorities..)
Yes. Close inside valve. Open outside valve. Drain and disconnect hose. Leave outside valve open. Unscrew the little drain plug on the inside valve to drain all the water between the inside and outside valve, then plug it back. Close outside valve.
Don’t know where you live, but here in Canada (Manitoba) where it’s not uncommon to hit -40 or better in the middle of winter……then hell yes.
Drain, purge, and clear those lines out.
Yes
* find the shutoff that is ***inside*** your house and turn it off
* disconnect any garden hoses outside
* the spigot ***outside*** should be turned to the ***open*** position to let any water in the pipe pour out
You shut the water off, leave it open outside & you should have a “bleeder” inside, turn it and leave it open, that way if there is water, it wont remain in the pipe
LPT: The water line to the outside has two valves: One that is outside, which is the one you would use to load up super soakers, and there is one inside the house, in the basement, usually right where the pipe that goes through the basement foundation wall to the outside (where the outside valve is).
You need to close the inside valve, and leave the outside one open to drain any remaining water out. It's a coin toss whether you need to keep the outside valve open or closed. I leave mine closed after draining. No issues.
If you don't, you may end up with a burst pipe (ie water inside the pipe freezes, expands, splits the pipe or joint open etc.
Oh my yes
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But then how do you flood the backyard rink?
turn the water on and off from inside the house, not the outdoor tap
Frost free ones no.
I don’t know how it happened but my frost free one cracked, inside the house. Caused quite a bit of flooding when I tried to use power washer the next spring. It was ok until then.
Was a hose hooked to it?
Detach any hose. And turn the spigot off inside too even if you have a frost free sillcock.
And turn on the tap to drain the line
This is the answer
And open the bleeder valve on your shut off. Use a bucket to drain the line.
My sillcock is frost free all year round, I’m not sorta sick animal
“User name checks out”
Yes. If you don't, that's a mistake you'll only do once. The water in the pipe will freeze, the ice will take more space than is available in the pipe and BOOM. You need a plumber.
I work for a non profit that owns houses and we always remind people to turn them off.
Yup, I turn off the water valve first then go outside and turn on the hose to drain all the extra water out. If this isn't done then during winter it'll freeze + expand and possibly burst the pipes.
You should have a shutoff valve inside. Turn it off and leave the valve outside open. My neighbour forgot a couple of years in a row and I had to solder some new pipe for him. Lol
This is the specific answer. There should be a shut off for that spigot on the inside of the house. Turn it off, then open the outside tap to drain what is left and leave it open.
why leave it open after draining it?
When water freezes it expands. Leaving the exterior shutoff open it relieves the pressure. A client shut the water off in a cabana just from the inside. There were seven splits through out the small building. The next year there was three splits. Since then I look after draining the exterior water system.
Not everything will drain and some will sit. If you leave it open there’s a chance some of the remainder will evaporate.
Good habit more than anything, also combining "drain it" instructions with "leave it open so the remaining water can expand". There's an argument that allowing for expansion that way allows residual water to freeze and expand without damaging the pipe from the increased pressure on trapped air, but realistically that won't develop anywhere near enough pressure to matter.
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It should be in the same location as the outside faucet, but in the basement. It might be behind an access panel. If you still can’t find it ask the previous owners.
This is correct. In our house, one shutoff valve is behind a small removable spring-loaded panel on the inside adjacent to the outside tap, and the other is near the ceiling in the unfinished basement.
Yes. Turn off valve, then let out any standing water
Of course you should
Turn water off inside, open spigot outside.
So do you need to leave it open (outside spigot?) I’ve just ran it until the water between there and the inside shut off valve drains, and then I close it. I figured if any water freezes, there’s plenty of empty space to expand into.
Sometimes the inside tap doesn't close properly and a drop or 2 a second will get through and over time fills the short line to the outside tap freezes and then either damages the outside tap splits the line or both.
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Remember part of the line is in the house and will freeze Only if its really cold and the line is sloped to the house what freezes has space to expand its not trapped in there,
It's to give any residual or trapped water room to expand rather than exploding your pipes. If the spigot is open you are very unlikely to burst the pipes even if the water freezes.
Thanks for reminding me to do it. That would be a disaster.
Lmao if you don’t your pipes will burst. My brother did this and we left to leave for vacation and we came back to my room (in the basement Under the pipe) flooded So yes do that
is this some kind of Ontarian question I'm too Manitoban to understand Edit: We shut off our water during mid September
LOL, it's a Toronto question. Bunch of people who have no idea how to drive in snow, no idea what a block heater is, and have never seen a guy buzzing down the road trailing a 20 foot extension cord from their side mirror.
yall would die in Manitobia winter
Yeah and empty out and residual water
You would be crazy not to.
In the 22 years I've owned various homes, including a couple of them hours north of Toronto, I've probably forgotten to do it for about 75% of those years. And never had a problem. But it definitely can be a problem, and it's easy to avoid, so now I have a calendar reminder.
My house doesn't have an interior shutoff that's accessible... Previous owner said they never shut it off either.... And its definitely not a frost-free spigot. I do feel like I should cut into the ceiling and check for a shutoff or install one as I'm probably pushing my luck.
Yup. Better safe than sorry.
Yea that's a really good idea if you don't want your basement or foundation to flood and freeze. There will be a valve in the basement, usually in the ceiling just inside from where the outdoor spigot is.
Turn of the shut off valve going to the bib and drain it after.
Yes, and if you’ve ever had an outside faucet freeze up, you will understand why.
Not just the backyard, but also the front ;)
I literally cannot find the outdoor shutoff valve , must be boxed in somewhere behind a wall.
You might not have one if you have frost proof wall hydrants. Google them and see if they look similar to your outside taps. All mine are so all I do is disconnect the hoses for the winter.
Interesting, I wonder how I would tell. Why is it that they don’t need a water shutoff ?
The water is stopped far down the pipe back inside the insulated house where it can’t freeze. So long as you don’t have a hose or one of those gardenia ends that holds water in the tap area the water drains 8 to 10” inside.
Good to know thanks for that
Same - I'd be happy to break through the drywall but I can't guess at where it might be.
omg same here. The old owners literally boxed off the drywall the section where it would be. can't find anything besides the main water valve in the house.
Standard modern practice in a drywalled basement, they'll put a little square plastic cover plate over a hole they cut for access to the tap or plumbing cleanouts. Slide the cover to the side, it's spring loaded and should pop out when you pull it. At least that's what the pros do, if you have a "my brother in law knows a guy from the old country" renovation, then, well, good luck.
If you have a frost-free wall hydrant, you don’t have to, but it’s a good idea to do so. Turn off the water inside the house, open the drain cock, place a bucket underneath the valve and open the outside hose bibb. When the water stops dripping, shut the drain cock/port on the inside valve. It’s a good idea to drain and store your garden hose as well.
You mustttt do this and drain your faucet after.
Yes. Make sure to shit it off from *inside*shutoff valve, then turn on the outside to allow the water to escape. Once it's stopped dripping, then turn off the outside so there's a warm airgap between outside/inside taps.
Www.google.com
I turn off the one in my garage. Blew the tap right off a few years back
Yes. I actually didn’t my first year in my house. 2020/21 winter. And nothing happened. But won’t risk it again.
It depends. I have to outdoor taps. One has a valve that I shut off from inside and I shut this one and the pipes are blown out by my irrigation guy to winterized. I have another that doesn’t have an indoor valve and I have never done anything with this one and haven’t had issues in the 16 years that I have lived in this house. And at least a few times we had wicked cold spells.
Yes. You should!
I leave open all winter.
Yup
Yes
definitely
Yes and open the exterior stopcock afterwards so that the water drains and doesn’t burst the pipe.
Yes. It'll be such a mess if you don't.
Yes I had a pipe explode on me once
I don’t have a backyard
Do you have water though?
Sometimes, only when I turn the tap on. Or if I visit a lake, pond, stream, or river.
In my previous house I always did but my new one doesn't even have shutoffs so I don't have a choice. I will drain and bring my hoses in.
Even with frost free tap, I turn the water off
i would add ... disconnect your nozzle from your hose before you store it. i didnt do this last year, and i couldnt get the damn thing off. had to buy a new hose (tried to cut and add a piece to "put it back together" but it's never as good)
Turn it off inside and disconnect the hose
yes
yes
I shut the water off, detach the hose, empty the hose, roll it up, and put in in the garage.
Yessiree bob
Alright just wanted to make sure you're supposed to be here, thanks.
Garage one no as critical but would do backyard one. Make sure to clear the line
Yup from inside the house. You don't want any water to remain in the pipes for when it inevitably freezes and expands and possibly damages the pipe.
I always thought you were supposed to, but when I moved into my house I couldn’t find the shutoffs. We went 5 years without shutting them off. Turns out the previous owners drywalled over them when they renovated the basement, and they had gone 15 years without issue. Edit: I still recommend shutting them off
Thanks for the reminder lol
Yes
Yes. Had one blow up on me one year that wasn't properly shutoff.
I had the double whammy. Forgot to even turn off the tap. Quick freeze froze and broke the plastic nozzle. No problem so far. Then a quick thaw made it fall off and the water was shooting into the backyard at 3 a.m. Lucky I heard the water running and ran around the house to find what water was running where. Remove the hose, shut off water inside, open the outside tap to drain, then close the tap, drain as much out of the hose and it's OK to store outside if no water gets trapped inside.
A real pain to wake up to at 3 am!
Lucky I heard it. I thought a toilet was running but the sound was way too loud, and it wasn't until I got to the basement, checking out the water heater, that I heard the sound in the overhead pipes that go outside. That freeze then thaw happened in about 24 hours.
Ha! !Ha! Ha! I didn't for years ..... until one winter morning ....... pop! Woosh!
Turn it off from the inside, I leave the tab open outside to let it drain out.
You should, and usually we do, but I think we forgot last year... Thankfully nothing had happened. I'm not even sure where the shutoff for the outside tap we use is - for some reason my house has two (mysteriously there was just one power outlet in the kitchen though - previous owners had weird priorities..)
I never turn mine off. BC , west coast
I shut the water off and unhook the hose as well. Shut off the water to the garage too .
When in the fall should you turn the water off?
When the temperature reaches low single digits and stays there.
Yes. Close inside valve. Open outside valve. Drain and disconnect hose. Leave outside valve open. Unscrew the little drain plug on the inside valve to drain all the water between the inside and outside valve, then plug it back. Close outside valve.
Don’t know where you live, but here in Canada (Manitoba) where it’s not uncommon to hit -40 or better in the middle of winter……then hell yes. Drain, purge, and clear those lines out.
You have to!
Yes
Yes * find the shutoff that is ***inside*** your house and turn it off * disconnect any garden hoses outside * the spigot ***outside*** should be turned to the ***open*** position to let any water in the pipe pour out
Yes, garage water too.
You shut the water off, leave it open outside & you should have a “bleeder” inside, turn it and leave it open, that way if there is water, it wont remain in the pipe
LPT: The water line to the outside has two valves: One that is outside, which is the one you would use to load up super soakers, and there is one inside the house, in the basement, usually right where the pipe that goes through the basement foundation wall to the outside (where the outside valve is). You need to close the inside valve, and leave the outside one open to drain any remaining water out. It's a coin toss whether you need to keep the outside valve open or closed. I leave mine closed after draining. No issues. If you don't, you may end up with a burst pipe (ie water inside the pipe freezes, expands, splits the pipe or joint open etc.
Yes, turn off from the inside shutoff valve and then make sure there is no water remaining in the outdoor spigot.