How to WINTERIZE your outside faucets

Don’t let your outside faucets freeze! When freezing temperatures are forecasted, you’ll want to be sure your house is properly winterized - or else you could find yourself with a very costly problem to fix!

• Outside faucets: Locate all outside faucets. Disconnect any hoses and drain them for winter storage. Remove splitters or any other items from each faucet.
• Shut-off valves: Every faucet should have a shut-off valve inside your home or basement. Locate all shut-off valves for each corresponding faucet and shut the water off in a clockwise direction completely.
• Drain exterior faucets: Turn on all faucets to drain any water left in them. If the water continues to flow, check the valve to make sure it’s off. Leave the faucet handle turned on throughout the winter.
• Add protection: Further, protect home plumbing by insulating all exterior pipes with pipe insulation. These insulation sleeves fit right over existing pipes and can be purchased through your local hardware or home improvement store. Also, winterize outdoor faucets with an insulated faucet cover to give added protection to your faucet.  Or you may want to install freeze-proof faucets that have a specially designed tube that goes to the shut-off valve. Whenever the faucet is turned off, any water in it automatically drains out through this tube.