Winterize your outdoor faucet yourself in 10 minutes
A cracked hose bib can mean a flooded basement and a plumber bill. The fix is simple, needs no tools, and the free checklist walks you through it.
Get the free 3-step checklistFree download. Print it or keep it on your phone.
The short version
- Disconnect the hose. Unscrew hoses, splitters, and timers. A connected hose traps water in the faucet.
- Close the indoor shutoff. It's usually in the basement on the pipe heading to the outside wall. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
- Drain it. Open the outdoor faucet and leave it open. If the indoor valve has a small bleed cap, open it over a bucket.
- Cover it. A foam faucet cover adds protection on the coldest nights.
Want the whole first cold night covered?
First Cold Night is a short printable guide for the whole first freezing night: outdoor faucets and cold-wall pipes, space heaters and the carbon monoxide alarm, the car, pets, and the path to the door.
Frost season is starting in Wisconsin. The first hard freeze usually lands in October. Doing this on a mild afternoon beats doing it with a flashlight at 11pm.