freezing exterior faucets?

[FortFunFoSho]

So we had our first snowfall last night and i never fully turned off my exterior faucets. Now they are frozen at the nozzle.. What should i do?

 

[Heisenberg]

You did disconnect the hose though right?

 

[FoBoT]

let them thaw out
then turn off the inside shutoff valve to that branch
open the outside faucet to drain it
place a foam cover thingy over the outside faucet

wait for spring and undo it

 

[The Stigenator]

i thought you kept it at a drip state.. so never freezes

 

[conehead433]

A blowtorch should thaw them out. Lol. You need to leave them running when it's going to freeze or you'll end up with burst pipes. And yes, make sure you disconnect the hoses.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
let them thaw out
then turn off the inside shutoff valve to that branch
open the outside faucet to drain it
place a foam cover thingy over the outside faucet

wait for spring and undo it

you can use a blowtorch to unfreeze it.

 

[meltdown75]

i want to sincerely thank you for reminding me to turn mine off!! :thumbsup: :beer:

i hope they didn't freeze last night

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
i want to sincerely thank you for reminding me to turn mine off!! :thumbsup: :beer:

i hope they didn't freeze last night

I forgot mine too

 

[FortFunFoSho]

At this point I have shutoff the water from the inside. should I turn that back on?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: FortFunFoSho
At this point I have shutoff the water from the inside. should I turn that back on?

No, leave that off.

Wait, you already shut off the interior valve? all you have to do after that is keep the faucet open.

 

[huberm]

if you are talking about spigots for a hose outside, I thought these had a mechanicsm in them that kept water from the uninsulated portion of the house, keeping it from freezing?

If not, I hope mine didn't freeze last night.

 

[Bryophyte]

Pipes exposed to the weather can be treated in several ways depending on the situation. If the water can be shut off at a point where it isn't at risk of freezing, then do that and open the tap outside. If not, you can leave it dripping (NOT a great solution for really cold places or as a long-term solution anywhere), use heat tapes and pipe-wrap foam sticks (good for places where lots of pipe is exposed and you can't shut off the water), or if you live in a place that doesn't have really hard freezes (like below 20 for long periods) and the only thing exposed is the tap, you can put a styrofoam cap over it (or cover with a plastic bag, ball up newspaper around it, cover the whole mess with plastic and tape well, then throw a bucket over the whole thing if it's a tap that comes up out of the ground.) Pipes in the house in really really cold climates could potentially have problems. The ones that run in a crawlspace should be foam wrapped if possible and any vents closed or covered with foam plugs, and if you leave the house for long periods, open the bathroom or kitchen cabinet under the sinks if they are on an outside wall, and leave the heat on to at least 50F.

If it freezes anyway, you can open the tap and use a hairdryer to warm the pipe until the water flows, then check if the pipe split, fix it if it did, and then weatherize the whole thing as described above.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: huberm
if you are talking about spigots for a hose outside, I thought these had a mechanicsm in them that kept water from the uninsulated portion of the house, keeping it from freezing?

If not, I hope mine didn't freeze last night.

All modern outside faucets have the valve itself way inside the exterior walls of the house. The handle you turn is connected to a long stem. The water is shut off way inside, far away from the cold.

These require nothing to be done in cold weather.

 

[FortFunFoSho]

Ok here is what happened.

1. Snowed last night.
2. Rookie house owner realized he had not done anything.
3. I shut off the pipes to the outside faucets from inside my basement. Basically the source.
4. Went outside to flush the water and it was frozen at the faucet.

What should I do at this point?

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: FortFunFoSho
Ok here is what happened.

1. Snowed last night.
2. Rookie house owner realized he had not done anything.
3. I shut off the pipes to the outside faucets from inside my basement. Basically the source.
4. Went outside to flush the water and it was frozen at the faucet.

What should I do at this point?

Nothing. They will probably thaw and drain today and with the water shut off inside the house you are good to go until spring.

 

[technogeeky]

hairdryer or blowtorch -> melt faucet water

 

[ironcrotch]

You serioiusly need one of those foam insulators to cover it.

 

[Spydermag68]

Ask This Old House

I know that there was a segment on ATOH, either repairing a boken outdoor faucet or one freezing up.