How to winterize an outdoor faucet (and why it still drips)

Water left in the short run of pipe that passes through an outside wall freezes first. Ice expands, and the pipe or the faucet body splits. The damage often stays hidden until spring, when someone turns the tap on and water runs into the basement wall instead of the garden.

Which kind of outdoor faucet do you have?

Look at the tap outside and at the wall behind it in the basement. There are two common types in Ontario homes, and they are winterized differently.

• A standard hose bib: the valve is in the tap itself, at the outside wall. Somewhere inside — usually on the pipe in the basement ceiling just behind that wall — there should be a separate shut-off valve for it. Older homes almost always have this type.
• A frost-free sillcock: the tap has a long stem, often 15 to 30 cm, that reaches through the wall so the actual valve closes inside the warm house. Many homes built or re-plumbed in the last few decades have these. The pipe slopes down to the outside so the stem drains itself when you close it.

How do you winterize a standard outdoor tap?

1. Disconnect the garden hose, drain it and store it inside.
2. Find the shut-off valve for that tap indoors and close it fully. It may be a round handle (a gate or globe valve) or a lever (a ball valve — a quarter turn, with the lever across the pipe when closed).
3. Go outside and open the tap. Some water will run out; that is the pipe draining.
4. If the indoor valve has a small cap or bleed screw on its side, put a bucket under it and open the cap briefly to let air in, so the last water drains out of the outdoor side. Close it again.
5. Leave the outside tap open all winter. If a little water is trapped, it has room to expand instead of splitting the pipe.
6. Optional: fit an insulated foam cover over the tap. It helps, but it does not replace closing the valve.

Do you need to winterize a frost-free faucet?

Yes, in one way: take the hose off. A frost-free sillcock only works if the stem can drain after you close it. A hose left attached traps water in the stem, the water freezes, and the sillcock splits inside the wall. Manufacturers such as Woodford say plainly that their freezeless faucets will not rupture only if the hose is removed. If there is also an indoor valve on the line, closing it gives you a second layer of protection.

Why does my outdoor faucet still drip after I shut it off?

What the drip means depends on where it comes from and how long it lasts.

If the indoor valve will not close fully, the tap is not really winterized — the outdoor section stays full of water. RedFlagDeals threads on dripping outdoor taps come back to the same fix: replace the old valve with a quarter-turn ball valve, which seals reliably and makes the job a five-second one every fall.

How do you know if an outdoor faucet burst?

Test it in spring, before you rely on it. Open the indoor valve slowly while someone watches the basement wall and ceiling behind the tap, then run the tap outside. Signs of a split: water dripping inside the wall or from the basement ceiling, a damp patch on drywall near the tap, a weak stream outside while you hear water running inside, or a sudden jump in your water bill. If you see any of these, close the indoor valve and leave the tap alone until it is repaired.

What else freezes in an Ontario winter?

• Pipes in unheated spaces: garages, crawl spaces, cold cellars and exterior walls under kitchen sinks.
• Lines to a garage or detached shop tap — shut and drain them the same way.
• Irrigation systems, which need their own blow-out by the installer.
• Any pipe near an opening: dryer vents, gaps around the water line where it enters the foundation.

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers advises keeping the heat up during extreme cold rather than turning it down at night, letting a cold tap drip in bitter weather, and turning off and draining the water if you will be away for a long stretch. If a pipe does freeze, shut the water off and thaw it gently with a hair dryer — never an open flame.

What does a plumber cost for an outdoor faucet?

On Doyo, a burst or leaking outdoor pipe or tap is booked as Pipe Repair, priced by written quote once the plumber has seen it. Plumbing is a compulsory trade in Ontario: plumbers on Doyo hold a Certificate of Qualification (306A), and Doyo checks it before they are offered plumbing work. Many homeowners pair it with a fall visit: swap an old indoor valve for a ball valve, or replace a standard hose bib with a frost-free one, before the ground freezes.