Prevent frozen pipes · before the first hard freeze
How to winterize outdoor faucets and prevent frozen pipes
HouseHum is a private, on-device home-maintenance log and evidence-grounded coach that reminds you what your house needs each month, tuned to your climate. Winterizing outdoor faucets is the item it flags hardest in freeze-prone regions — because a burst pipe is one of the costliest and most common winter home-insurance claims, and it's almost entirely preventable in about twenty minutes.
Here's the mechanism, because it explains every step below. Water expands as it freezes. When a garden hose is left connected to an outdoor faucet (a "hose bib" or "spigot"), it traps water in the bib and the short run of pipe behind it. That trapped water freezes, expands, and can crack the pipe — often inside the exterior wall, where you won't see it until it thaws and floods. The fix is simple: get the water out of anything exposed to the cold before the first hard freeze.
Timing depends on your local first-frost date, which varies widely by USDA zone and region. Look yours up and aim to finish this a week or two ahead of it — you do not want to be doing it the night a surprise cold snap is forecast.
Step 1 — Disconnect and drain every garden hose
Unscrew every hose from every outdoor faucet. Drain each one (walking it downhill or looping it over a fence works), coil it, and store it somewhere it won't hold water. A connected hose is the single most common cause of a frozen, burst hose-bib pipe — this one step prevents most failures.
Step 2 — Shut off and drain the faucet's water supply
Two cases:
- Standard hose bibs: Find the interior shutoff valve for each outdoor faucet — usually on the pipe just inside the wall, in the basement, crawlspace, or a utility area. Close it. Then go back outside and open the outdoor faucet to let the water between the valve and the spigot drain out completely. Leave the outdoor faucet open (or just its little bleeder cap loosened) through winter so any remaining water has room to expand instead of splitting the pipe.
- Frost-free (frost-proof) hose bibs: These shut the water off deep inside the heated wall, so there's often no separate interior valve. You still must disconnect the hose — a connected hose defeats the frost-free design and can freeze the bib anyway. If you're not sure which type you have, treat it like a standard bib and look for an interior shutoff.
Step 3 — Drain irrigation and other exposed lines
If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, drain it (or have it "blown out" with compressed air) before the freeze — trapped water in irrigation lines and backflow preventers cracks them just like it does a hose bib. Don't forget other exposed water: pool lines, a detached-garage or barn spigot, and any pipe running through an unheated space.
What to do during an actual deep freeze
If an unusual, severe cold snap hits — including in normally mild regions where plumbing isn't built for it — the American Red Cross and insurance loss-prevention guidance recommend:
- Let a trickle run from faucets served by pipes on exterior walls. Moving water is much harder to freeze.
- Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors so room heat can reach the plumbing behind them.
- Keep the thermostat at one steady temperature, day and night, through the event — don't set it back at night during a hard freeze.
If a pipe already froze or burst
If a faucet won't run in a freeze, a pipe is likely frozen. You can try to thaw an accessible pipe gently — keep the faucet open and apply warm (never open-flame) heat, working from the faucet end back. Never use a blowtorch or open flame on a pipe — that's a fire risk and can burst the pipe.
If a pipe has already burst and is leaking, shut off the main water supply (know where your main shutoff is before winter) and call a licensed plumber. Water near electrical outlets or panels is a call to a pro and, if needed, your utility — not a DIY moment.
Twenty minutes in the fall — disconnect hoses, shut off and drain the bibs, drain the irrigation — prevents the burst pipe that ruins a January. Do it a couple of weeks ahead of your local first-frost date, know where your main shutoff is, and keep the deep-freeze tricks (drip, open cabinets, steady heat) in your back pocket for surprise cold snaps.
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Open the free appFrequently asked
When should I shut off my outdoor faucets?
Before your first hard freeze. That date varies widely by USDA zone and region, so look up your local average first-frost date and aim to finish a week or two ahead of it, rather than waiting for the first cold night.
Do I really need to disconnect the hose if I have frost-free faucets?
Yes. A frost-free bib shuts the water off deep in the heated wall — but a connected hose traps water in the outer end and can freeze and crack it anyway. Disconnecting the hose is the one step that applies to every type of outdoor faucet.
Should I leave the outdoor faucet open or closed for winter?
After you've shut off and drained the interior valve, leaving the outdoor faucet open (or its bleeder cap loosened) gives any remaining water room to expand instead of splitting the pipe. Just make sure the interior supply is actually off first.
What if I think a pipe already froze?
If a faucet won't run in a freeze, keep it open and gently warm an accessible pipe — never with an open flame. If a pipe has burst, shut off your main water supply and call a licensed plumber. Keep gas, electrical, and standing-water-near-outlets situations for the pros.
Sources for this page
| Claim | Named authority |
|---|---|
| Disconnect hoses, drain and shut off interior valves (or verify frost-free), drain irrigation before the first hard freeze; a connected hose traps water and can burst the pipe inside the wall | IBHS — freeze / freeze-event loss-prevention guidance |
| During a deep freeze: drip exterior-wall faucets, open cabinet doors, hold a steady thermostat | American Red Cross — Preventing and Thawing Frozen Pipes; IBHS cold-event guidance |
| Water expands on freezing; burst pipes are among the costliest and most common winter claims | IBHS freeze-loss guidance |
| Thaw accessible pipes gently, never with an open flame; shut off the main and call a plumber for a burst | American Red Cross — Preventing and Thawing Frozen Pipes |