How do you winterize outdoor faucets?
Updated August 2026
Winterizing outdoor faucets is one 10-minute round every fall: unhook every garden hose, then drain or shut off each hose bib before the first hard freeze. A frost-free bib handles most of this on its own, but a standard bib needs its dedicated indoor stop valve closed and the outdoor spigot left open so the pipe drains empty. Skip it and a hose left connected traps water that freezes, splits the pipe behind the wall, and floods a room for $500 to $3,000.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Disconnect and drain every garden hose | Fall | 5 min · DIY |
| Shut the indoor stop, open the outdoor bib to drain | Fall | 5 min · DIY |
| Slip a foam bib cover over standard spigots | Fall | $2–5 each |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Reopen the indoor stop, watch for drips behind the wall | Spring | 5 min · DIY |
| Run the first hose cycle and check for weak pressure | Spring | 5 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Swap a standard bib for a frost-free model | One time | $150–300 pro |
What neglect costs
A garden hose left screwed on over winter is the classic disaster. The hose holds a plug of water against the bib, that water freezes and expands, and the split usually happens a foot or two inside the wall where you cannot see it. You often will not know until spring, when you open the faucet and water pours into the wall cavity instead of out the spout. Drying, drywall, and pipe repair on a soaked wall run $500 to $3,000, against the couple of dollars a foam cover costs. See what a connected hose actually costs for the full breakdown.
Leave these to a pro
Almost all of this is DIY. The one job worth hiring out is the frost-free replacement: a plumber cuts in a new sillcock pitched slightly downward so it self-drains, usually $150 to $300 per faucet including the part. If a bib already drips from the handle or spurts around the stem when you open it, that is a worn washer or packing, and a leaking hose bib is a cheap repair now that becomes a frozen-split pipe later.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
Do frost-free faucets still need to be winterized?
Mostly you just disconnect the hose. Frost-free bibs put the shutoff 6 to 12 inches inside the heated wall, so water drains back and nothing freezes at the exposed end. But that only works with the hose off; a connected hose blocks the drain-back and can still freeze and split the assembly from the inside. So even with frost-free bibs, the rule holds: unhook every hose before the freeze, every year, without exception.
How do I shut off water to just my outdoor faucet?
Most standard hose bibs have a dedicated shutoff on the pipe feeding them, usually in the basement, crawl space, or utility room a few feet inside from where the spigot exits the wall. Look for a small gate or ball valve, sometimes with a bleeder cap. Close it, then open the outdoor bib to let the trapped water drain out, and leave the bib open through winter so no water can pool and freeze in the pipe.
What's the difference between a hose bib and a frost-free faucet?
A hose bib is just the outdoor faucet you screw a hose onto. A standard one shuts the water off right at the wall, so water sits in the exposed pipe and can freeze. A frost-free (or freeze-proof) bib has a long stem that shuts the water off 6 to 12 inches back inside the warm wall, so the exposed section drains empty on its own. See what a hose bib is for the full anatomy.
When should I winterize outdoor faucets?
Before the first hard freeze, meaning the first night forecast to drop into the mid-20s Fahrenheit or lower. In much of the US that lands in October or November; in cold-winter states, do it as soon as you are done watering for the season. There is no penalty for doing it early, so err a few weeks ahead rather than gamble on a surprise cold snap. The winterizing interval page has the regional timing.