DIY guideOutdoor faucet
Shut off and drain an outdoor faucet
Keep an outdoor tap from freezing and splitting: close its valve inside, drain it and cover it.
- 10 to 20 min
- 5 steps
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Disconnect the garden hose and drain it. A hose left on traps water in the faucet. If your faucet is the frost-free kind, with a long body that runs into the wall, taking the hose off is all it needs.
Inside, find the valve on the pipe that runs to the outdoor faucet, often in the basement near that wall. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
Go outside and open the faucet all the way. Let it run until it stops dripping.
Back inside, if the valve has a small cap on its side, hold a bucket under it and unscrew the cap to let the trapped water out, then screw it back on.
Leave the outdoor faucet open and fit a foam cover over it.
What you need
- A bucket
- A foam faucet cover
- A flashlight
Call a pro if
- You can't find a valve inside for the outdoor faucet
- The faucet or its pipe has already frozen or split
- It still drips after the valve inside is closed
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
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