How to Fix Old Fashioned Spigot Leaking From Handle

Is your outdoor hose spigot leaking or cracked? Larn how to go along your outdoor faucet in good condition, no matter how cold or how warm the weather is.

Outdoor faucet with drip

With the depths of winter approaching, it's a good thought to go your outdoor faucets, likewise called hose spigots or hose bibs, ready for plunging temperatures. Leaking outdoor faucets can cause your pipes to freeze and crack, creating plumbing issues inside your habitation too.

Before the first freeze arrives, accept steps to weatherize your outdoor faucets. And, if you're looking for suggestions on how to gear up a leaky hose bib, taking a few DIY-friendly measures tin assist.

Why Do Pipes Break When They Freeze?

Yous might exist surprised to acquire that ice forming in a water pipe typically does not cause information technology to suspension where the ice blockage occurs. Although h2o increases in volume (by approximately 9 percent) when it freezes, and water ice does put pressure on your pipes, it may not cause direct damage. Instead, an ice blockage increases the water pressure "downstream" — that is, between the ice and a closed faucet.

This increase in water pressure is what typically leads to pipe failure, and if your pipes burst, they normally do and then far from the site of freezing. That means that whatsoever ice that forms due to a leaky outdoor faucet can cause a pipe to rupture inside the walls of your dwelling, leading to thousands of dollars in water impairment.

Weatherizing Your Outdoor Faucets

Protect your outdoor faucets against those "downstream" breaks in your water pipes by taking the following measures.

Carry an inspection. Cheque your outdoor faucets for any leaks or drips and repair them before common cold weather arrives. Also, inspect your exterior walls and foundation for cracks or holes near your hose bibs. Caulk or otherwise seal them to prevent cold air from reaching your pipes.
Disconnect and bleed all hoses attached to your hose spigots. Not removing hoses and any other connections from the hose bib tin trap water and crusade the fixture to freeze.
Drain the faucet. If possible, close the outdoor supply valve and drain the piping leading to the faucet. By draining all water from the faucet organisation, you tin can prevent ice from forming. Before freezing weather sets in, locate and close the valve supplying h2o to the outside faucet, and so open the faucet outside and drain the pipe. (If your outdoor faucets do not accept a dedicated supply, turn off the primary water supply to drain them).
Insulate. Protect your outdoor faucets from extreme temperatures using faucet covers, available at most hardware and dwelling house improvement stores. They're cheap, easy to install (usually with no tools required) and take a lifespan of several years. If you live in a climate that turns especially frigid in winter, you might want to install some insulation inside the faucet embrace to provide extra warmth.

How to Fix a Leaky Hose Bib

If you discover that one of your hose bibs is leaking, you lot may exist able to repair it yourself. Here are step-by-step instructions for diagnosing and correcting the source of your leak.

Tighten the packing nut. Employ pliers or a wrench, and tighten the packing nut adjacent to the faucet's handle. Take intendance not to tighten the packing nut so much that the handle is hard to plow or you damage the fixture. Turn the water on and off, and if the dripping stops, nothing else needs to be done.

If the hose spigot continues leaking even afterwards yous've tightened the packing nut, yous may need to replace the packing washer.

Turn off the water supply. Earlier replacing the packing washer, turn off the water supply. Next, drain the faucet. Be sure to do this earlier taking the handle assembly autonomously.
Remove the handle assembly.Use pliers or a wrench to turn the packing nut counterclockwise until you lot can remove the handle assembly.
Remove the packing screw inside the handle assembly. With the packing screw removed, utilise a standard (or slotted) screwdriver to pry the packing washer out. It's a skillful idea to take the old washer to the hardware or plumbing supply shop to make sure you purchase a replacement washer of the proper size.
Replace the packing washer and spiral. Insert the new washer and spiral it in place.
Reassemble the faucet handle and tighten the packing nut. Over again, have care not to overtighten and mayhap damage the packing nut.
Restore the water supply. Plough on the water supply and plough the faucet on and off a couple of times to examination your repair.

Whether you're dealing with a leaking faucet or a plumbing issue of much greater seriousness, you can relieve coin on home maintenance costs with a Plumbing Domicile Warranty from American Domicile Shield^®. We offer a variety of flexible plans to assist cover the repair and replacement of your essential appliances and equipment, including those outdoor hose bibs. Contact united states today to learn more about how nosotros tin can help protect your dwelling house, besides as your household budget.

AHS assumes no responsibleness, and specifically disclaims all liability, for your employ of any and all information contained herein.

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