The winter climate here in Lincoln, NE, is chilly, and that’s putting it mildly. As a result, homeowners have a lot to do to prepare their homes for the winter. From sealing air leaks to servicing their heating system, it’s a sprint from the fall to the start of winter. However, there’s one critical task that homeowners can’t afford to overlook. It’s to winterize their outdoor plumbing before temperatures drop too low. Here’s why this plumbing routine is so important and how to do it.
What Does Winterizing Plumbing Mean?
Winterizing is a catch-all term that refers to steps taken to prevent plumbing damage in the winter. Since your pipes have water running through them, they’re vulnerable to freezing. Nowhere is that more of a problem than outside of your home. There, exposed plumbing doesn’t have the benefit of your home’s heating system. As a result, it must withstand the winter temperatures on its own.
What Can Happen if You Don’t Winterize Outdoor Plumbing?
It’s important to understand that winterizing your outdoor plumbing doesn’t just protect your home’s hose bibs. The reason is that, when water in your pipes freezes, it may do other damage elsewhere. For example, if a hose bib freezes, its valve may fail, leading to leaks in the spring. However, the blockage in the bib may increase the pressure in the pipes that lead to it. That can cause a pipe inside your home to burst. A burst pipe can do thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home, requiring you to call an expert plumbing repair contractor to fix it.
How to Winterize Outdoor Plumbing
There are several steps you must take to winterize your outdoor plumbing. Here’s what to do, in order.
1. Turn off Hose Bib Water Supplies
The first step you must take is to cut off the water supply to your home’s hose bib or bibs. You can do this by locating the relevant shutoff valves inside your home. You can usually find a hose bib’s shutoff valve near where it penetrates your exterior wall. If you don’t see an obvious shutoff valve, follow the pipe further into your home to locate it. Depending on your home’s construction, the shutoff valve may be behind an access panel. That’s a standard solution if the supply pipe runs through a finished interior wall or ceiling.
The shutoff valve should be either a gate valve or a lever valve. If it’s a gate valve, you must turn its wheel clockwise until it fully closes. If it’s a lever valve, turn it clockwise until it’s perpendicular to the pipe. Remember to do this for each hose bib on your home’s exterior. You will open your hose bib afterward to confirm that you’ve completely shut off the water supply.
2. Drain and Store Garden Hoses
Your next task is to disconnect any garden hoses you have attached to your hose bibs. After disconnecting each hose, drain any water remaining inside it. You can do this by keeping one end of the hose at ground level while raising the rest above your shoulder. Begin with the opposite end of the hose and work your way toward the end you have on the ground. Afterward, coil the hose and store it in a garden shed or inside your home.
3. Drain All Hose Bibs
With your hoses detached, you can open the valves on your hose bibs. You can do this by turning their handles counterclockwise until they stop rotating. Any water remaining in the supply pipe after its shutoff valve should drain when you do this. It’s a good idea to leave the valves open for a while to make sure you get all remaining water out. Any remaining water might freeze and damage your pipes, spoiling all your hard work. When no water remains, close the hose bib valves by rotating them clockwise until they stop.
4. Inspect and Repair Hose Bibs
Before you finish your winterization tasks, you should take a moment to inspect your hose bibs. If you noticed any leaks during winterization, you should address them with a plumber’s help. You should also look at the caulking around where your hose bib penetrates your home’s wall. You should repair it if it appears cracked or damaged or has visibly shrunk. Be sure to use a polyurethane caulk that’s rated for outdoor use. You can apply a new bead of caulk over the existing caulk or clean it out and apply new caulk from scratch. In either case, be thorough to ensure there’s no air leakage around the pipe opening.
5. Install Insulating Foam Covers
Your next step is to install insulating foam covers over your hose bibs. They help keep frigid air outside your home and provide additional protection against freezing. Installing foam covers is also quite simple. Though their designs vary, most have similar installation steps. Begin by finding the plastic loop inside the foam cover. Slip it over your hose bib while avoiding wrapping it around the valve. Then, pull the other end of the plastic strap on the cover’s outside. That will pull the cover over the hose bib and press it firmly against your home’s exterior wall. There should be a mechanism to secure the strap right where it comes out of the foam cover. Before securing the covers, you can pack loose insulation into them for added protection.
Additional Considerations
Although winterizing your Lincoln home’s outdoor plumbing isn’t difficult, you can save time by updating it. You can do so by installing frost-free hose bibs in place of your existing ones. There are two primary frost-free hose bib designs. One is called a frost-free sillcock. It looks like the hose bibs you’re likely used to, with a few key differences. One is that they feature a sloped connecting pipe that runs into your home. That ensures you never leave any water in a vulnerable section of the pipe. The other feature is a valve that extends further into the pipe, cutting off the water supply further into your home. That ensures the hose bib won’t freeze if it experiences an unseasonably cold night.
The other, more modern option, is offered by companies like Aquor. They have unique features that mean you don’t need to winterize them. One is that they lack conventional valves. Instead, they have a connector that automatically turns on your water supply when inserted. When you remove the connector, the water supply stops, and the bib drains. Aquor bibs also have built-in covers, which you can close when not in use. They provide ample protection against freezing and don’t require the installation of foam covers for winter.
Your Winter Plumbing Partner
For over 28 years, John Henry's Plumbing, Heating, Air, and Electrical has been the plumber Lincoln homeowners trust most. We offer complete plumbing and drain services, including sump pumps, water heaters, and water treatment. Our plumbers have years of training and experience and have the latest tools at their disposal. We also offer complete HVAC and electrical services. Additionally, all our work comes with a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. However, our long list of five-star reviews should let you know you’ll never need it.
So, if you need help winterizing your outdoor plumbing in Lincoln, call John Henry's Plumbing, Heating, Air, and Electrical immediately!
