Take the hoses off every outdoor faucet
A garden hose left connected holds water against the faucet. When that water freezes, it has nowhere to go but back into the pipe. That is how a faucet that looks fine in December leaks inside the wall the first time you use it in spring.
Unscrew every hose, drain it, and store it in the garage or shed. Do the same with splitters, timers and quick-connect fittings. They hold water too.
Walk the whole outside of the house. Most homes have at least two outdoor faucets, and the one behind the shrubs is the one that gets missed.
Source: Ready.gov — Winter weather
Cover the faucet and check for an inside shutoff
A foam faucet cover from any hardware store slips over the spigot and holds some warmth from the house around it. It is cheap insurance on nights in the 20s. Put it on after the hose is off, not over a hose connection.
Some homes also have a separate shutoff valve inside for the outdoor faucet, often in the crawlspace, basement or near the water heater. If you have one, turn it off for the winter, then open the outdoor faucet to let the water in that short section drain out. Leave the outdoor faucet open while that inside valve is off.
If you do not know whether your house has an inside shutoff for the outdoor faucets, look along the pipe that runs toward the outside wall where the faucet is. If you cannot find one, a cover and a disconnected hose still do most of the work.
Frost-free faucets and signs of a problem
Many newer homes have frost-free faucets, which shut the water off further back inside the wall. They only work right if the hose is off so the faucet can drain. A frost-free faucet with a hose left on can still split.
After a hard freeze, turn the outdoor faucet on and look and listen. Water that sputters, a faucet that drips after you shut it off, a wet spot on the siding or inside wall, or a sudden jump on the water bill all mean something cracked. Turn that faucet off, shut the inside valve or the main if it keeps leaking, and do not keep using it.
Leak at the outside wall after a cold night? Call me at (470) 999-7395. A $79 diagnostic is how I find out whether it is the faucet or the line behind it.
