How to Winterize Hose Bibs and Prevent Frozen Pipes

Home Maintenance · Northeastern Pennsylvania · Fall 2026

One of the most common winter plumbing failures we see in Northeastern Pennsylvania starts with a garden hose left attached to an outdoor spigot. It takes about two minutes to prevent, and it can cause thousands of dollars of hidden water damage when it isn’t.

Know Which Kind of Spigot You Have

Not sure which you have? Look at the spigot’s body. A frost-free sillcock usually has a long pipe running into the house behind the handle and often has a small vacuum breaker cap on top. If you find a shutoff valve on the same pipe in the basement, you most likely have a standard hose bib.

Why the Hose Has to Come Off

Frost-free spigots only work if they can drain. With a hose attached, water is trapped in the spigot and pipe. When it freezes, it expands and splits the pipe inside the wall, where you can’t see it.

The damage usually goes unnoticed all winter. In spring, someone hooks up the hose, opens the spigot and water pours into the wall cavity or basement ceiling instead of the hose. By then, it can mean wet insulation, ruined drywall and mold.

How to Winterize Outdoor Spigots

Frost-free sillcocks

1. Disconnect the hose and any fittings.
2. Open the spigot briefly to let any water drain, then close it.
3. Check for drips. A spigot that keeps dripping after it’s closed has a worn washer or seat and should be repaired before it freezes.
4. Add an insulated cover for extra protection on spigots that face north or west or sit in the wind.

Standard hose bibs

1. Close the indoor shutoff valve that feeds the spigot.
2. Open the outdoor spigot and leave it open all winter so any water left in the pipe can drain and expand without bursting it.
3. Open the drain cap on the indoor valve, if it has one, over a bucket to empty the rest of the line, then close it.
4. Add an insulated cover to the outdoor spigot.

Irrigation systems

Shut off the irrigation supply, then have the lines blown out with compressed air by your irrigation contractor, or by yourself if you have the right compressor and know the system. Draining by gravity alone leaves water in low spots of the lines and the heads. Insulate the backflow preventer if it is above ground.

Protect the Pipes Inside the House

Pipes don’t only freeze outdoors. Any water line in a cold spot can freeze when temperatures drop into the single digits, which they do in NEPA most winters.

Where to look

• Pipes in exterior walls, especially kitchen sinks on outside walls
• Crawl spaces, unheated basements and garages
• Pipes near basement sill plates, rim joists, dryer vents and other places where cold air leaks in
• Bonus rooms and additions over unheated spaces

What to do

• Seal the air leaks around rim joists and pipe penetrations with foam or caulk. Cold air drafts freeze pipes faster than cold temperatures alone.
• Insulate exposed pipes with foam pipe sleeves. For pipes that have frozen before, use a UL-listed heat cable installed exactly as the manufacturer instructs.
• Keep the garage door closed if water lines run through the garage.
• On very cold nights, open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls and let a cold tap drip slightly. Moving water is much harder to freeze.
• Never set the heat below 55°F, even when you’re away.

Going Away This Winter?

• Leave the heat at 55°F or higher.
• Ask someone to check the house every few days, or install a smart thermostat and a water leak sensor that alert your phone.
• For longer trips, consider turning off the main water valve and opening a faucet on the lowest floor to relieve pressure. If your home has a boiler or a fire sprinkler system, ask your plumber or HVAC technician first, because those systems need water.

If a Pipe Freezes or Bursts

Frozen but not burst: if you open a faucet and only a trickle comes out, a pipe is likely frozen. Keep the faucet open and warm the pipe gently with a hair dryer, a space heater kept a safe distance away or warm towels, starting near the faucet and working back. Never use an open flame or a torch.

Burst: shut off the main water valve immediately, turn off electricity to any area where water is reaching outlets or fixtures, and call a plumber. Take photos for your insurance company before you start cleaning up.

Building New? Plan the Plumbing for Winter

In a new home, frozen pipes are a design problem we can solve before the walls close: frost-free sillcocks with accessible shutoffs, supply lines kept out of exterior walls wherever possible, sealed and insulated rim joists, and a main shutoff that is easy to reach. Those choices cost very little during construction and remove a winter worry for good.