Most people tend to forget to disconnect their hoses in winter. That’s because there are so many precautions that homeowners usually take as the winter season approaches that they can easily forget about this particular one. So, what happens if you forget?
If for any reason, you forgot to disconnect the hose in winter, the water that remained in the hose will freeze up, causing cracking on your lining. The ice created will then put pressure on the house pipes, thus vandalizing the entire plumbing system. As a result, these pipes may burst or crack, which is something no homeowner wants to deal with.
Some of these plumbing repairs can be too costly for some homeowners to handle. That’s why it’s always better that you take the proper precautions before the worst happens. Read more to discover what you can do to keep your hose leak-free all year long. Also, learn about the steps you can take to salvage the situation if you don’t disconnect your hose in winter.
How to Keep Your Hose Leak-Free in Winter
As mentioned above, getting your garden hose exposed to too much cold, that is, ice and snow will make them crack, burst, or split. To ensure the hose remains leak-free in winter and in years to come, you must remove it from your home’s hose bibb. Then, go ahead and drain any excess water from it.
Once you’ve done all that you can keep it in a shed or garage until the next time you’ll need it. Carry out this process before the temperature falls to extreme levels, leading to water inside the hose freezing.
The following can happen if you don’t follow the above process on time.
- Freezing in winter causes ice and snow, which can significantly damage your garden hose. When this happens, the hose becomes leaky and useless, forcing you to either repair or replace depending on the damage before you can use it again. For this reason, you must practice detaching the garden hose in the fall season and store it safely in the garage during the winter period.
- As if that is not enough, your home’s interior pipes may also freeze and crack or burst. That’s because they’re still connected to the unwinterized hose outside.
- Finally, the internal pipes bursting also means that the pipe going to the outside faucet will also burst. As a result, there could be leaks, flooding in your home, and water damage.
You can imagine this mess in such a cold season, which you can easily avoid. There’s a straightforward step you can follow in saving your pipes from cracking or bursting and avoiding this entire mess. Simply disconnect the garden hose from the hose bibb before winter jets in. it will save you money that you can otherwise use on the costly plumbing repairs and in buying new pipes for your home.
How Long Does It Take For a Hose to Freeze in Winter?
It only takes six hours for the water trapped inside faucets and hoses to freeze and turn to solid in extremely low temperatures. Just one night of snow and icefall, and you’re done for because that’s enough to cause significant damage.
Therefore, it’s better to disconnect your hose and keep them in the garage after draining all the remaining water, two weeks in advance. Between October and November can be an excellent period to winterize your pipes.
Steps You Can Take to Salvage the Situation If You Didn’t Disconnect Your Hose before Winter
It’s normal to forget to disconnect the hose in winter. But, remembering and acting immediately can help you out immensely. You might be lucky enough to only find your pipes and the hose freezing but haven’t cracked or burst yet.
Remember, the longer you leave your garden hose connected to an outside hose bibb, the greater the risk of your internal pipes bursting and causing havoc in your home. The following steps should help you salvage the situation and prevent further damages.
Water to the Hose Should Be Off
In a typical home plumbing setup, you’ll discover that the water shutoff valve that controls the water flowing to the exterior hose sits in the internal pipes. Try to locate it either from the basement, utility closet or from the crawlspace.
If you do find it, you need to rotate it clockwise until the end in order to turn it off. This process will definitely stop the water from flowing to the garden hose. That’s the first step required in protecting your internal pipes from damage.
Remember, when water trapped inside pipes freezes up, it expands, leading to a burst. This water can gain up to a 10% volume increase, putting pressure on the pipes both inside and out. The damage caused will not show right away, so you won’t notice any water leakage. Wait until the temperature rises again, and the ice inside melts. Then, the evidence will start showing clearly.
Thaw both Your Outdoor Hose and Faucet
It’s impossible to remove the garden hose once it freezes up and becomes cold and solid. But, there are proven ways you can thaw them. One possible method is by directing hot air to these two outdoor plumbing equipment. You can use the hot air from either a heat gun or a dryer.
Though you can also pour hot water on them, the two devices will most likely work better. Remember, the hot water can also refreeze on the faucet or hose’s surface and cause more damage.
When applying the hot air from either the blow dryer or heat gun, you need to hold the gadget 4 inches away from the hose connector or the faucet’s handle. Holding the gadget too closely may cause the hose and faucet to burn and cut through, which is what you’re trying to avoid in the long run.
Also, depending on the ice build-up and the outside temperature, thawing of these two tools may take between two to ten minutes. After this process, the faucet’s handle will turn, and it will become easier to disconnect the hose.
Now You Can Disconnect Your Hose
Now that you’ve successfully thawed both the faucet and the hose, you can go ahead to disconnect the hose from the hose bibb. This step is only possible by hand if you’re sure you thawed all the ice.
Otherwise, you can use a pair of pliers to conduct the job. It can quickly loosen the hose. Once done, bring this hose indoors to either a garage, garden shed, or basement for proper storage. If you keep this hose indoors in winter, it will surely increase its longevity.
Opening Faucet
After removing and storing the hose, opening the faucet is now easy. Simply turn the hose bibb handle in the anticlockwise direction to open it. The reason behind opening your faucet is to let the water that remained inside after turning the primary source off come out. If you don’t see a trickle of water, then simply know that this water has frozen up inside the pipe.
However, with the main supply off, you can just leave the faucet open as long as it takes or until the winter season ends. The opening will enable the remaining water to exit whenever there’s a thaw. Also, the trapped water can expand outside when it freezes.
It’s simply a matter of luck here. If you’re lucky enough, then you opened all the valves before any significant damage happened to your entire plumbing system. If not, then you have a considerable cost to cover later after the winter season ends.
Finally, Drain Excess Water from Your Main Water Supply Line
You’ve opened the faucet and left it that way for the water to escape. Now turn your focus inside. Go back to the primary water shutoff valve and also to the water line bleeder valve. Follow the following steps to ensure you remove any remaining water from the two valves.
- Locate the turn-off valve for the main water supply line. This valve has a small metal cap right under its handle that you can use to either turn the water supply on and off.
- Use a bucket or basin to fetch the excess water that will exit this valve when you remove the metal cap.
- You can now remove the valve’s metal cap after putting this bucket into position to catch water.
- Ensure that all the remaining water inside the valve bleeder drains out. It’s only until then that you can screw back the metal cap in place.
- Now put the bleeder cap back.
Following these five steps, one after the other, ensures you drain any little water that remains in the pipes. By doing so, you prevent freezing and bursting or cracking in the end. You already know what will happen to your entire plumbing system in case your hose freezes and bursts in winter.
Summary
It only takes a few steps to do the right thing if you forget to disconnect your hose in winter. By removing the hose, turning your main water supply off, and draining trapped water from the pipes, you can keep your hose leak-free for long. But if you ignore it, the damage may be too costly for you to handle, especially since you’ll also have to hire a licensed plumber.
