How Do I Winterize My Outdoor Faucets Before Winter
Shut off the water supply to every outdoor faucet before the first hard freeze, then drain the lines and store your hoses. On Long Island that usually means having this done by late October or the first week of November, well before temperatures start dropping below freezing overnight.
Why This Is Worth an Hour of Your Time
A frozen outdoor faucet can crack the pipe behind your wall without you knowing it. The real damage shows up in spring when you turn the water back on and find a leak inside your foundation or basement ceiling. That repair costs far more than the time it takes to winterize now.
Most homes here, from Nassau's older Capes to Suffolk's split levels, have at least one hose bib on an exterior wall that connects to plumbing just inside. If that line still has water in it when a hard freeze hits, the water expands and the pipe can split. You will not see it happen. You will see the result later.
The Steps to Shut Off and Drain
Start by finding the interior shutoff valve for each outdoor faucet. In most Long Island homes this is in the basement or crawl space, often a small valve mounted on the pipe that feeds the spigot. Turn it off.
Then go outside and open the faucet to let any remaining water drain out. Leave it open through the winter. This relieves pressure in the line so there is nothing left to freeze and expand.
If your home has a frost free spigot, the shutoff is built into the long stem of the faucet itself, but you still need to disconnect any hose attached to it. A hose left connected keeps water trapped in the spigot even on a frost free model, which defeats the purpose. The Energy Star guidance on seasonal home maintenance covers this along with other fall tasks worth doing at the same time, like checking weatherstripping and attic insulation while you are already in maintenance mode.
If you are not sure where your shutoff valves are, this is a good question for a plumber during a fall service call. Many will check this as part of a broader winterization visit, which also makes sense if you are switching heating systems or servicing a boiler before the cold sets in.
What to Do With Hoses, Sprinklers, and Irrigation Lines
Drain every hose completely and coil it loosely for storage. Water left inside a hose over winter will freeze, expand, and weaken the rubber, which shortens its life even if it does not crack outright.
Store hoses somewhere above freezing if you can, a garage or basement works fine. Leaving them outside against a foundation wall all winter is common but not ideal, since repeated freeze and thaw cycles are harder on the material.
If you have an irrigation system, it needs a proper blowout, not just a shutoff. Most systems hold water in underground lines and sprinkler heads that a simple valve will not drain. Irrigation contractors use compressed air to clear the lines completely. The EPA WaterSense program has background on how irrigation systems work and why seasonal shutdowns matter, which is useful if you are managing this yourself for the first time.
Disconnect any backflow preventers or above ground irrigation valves too, since those are exposed and freeze easily if left full of water.
This is also a good week to walk your exterior and check for drafts around hose bib penetrations, since the same small gap that lets cold air in can let water find its way where it should not be. A bead of exterior caulk around the pipe where it enters the wall is a five minute fix.
Do this along with your furnace tune up and storm prep this month, and you will have one less thing to think about once the first freeze warning comes through.