The other day I received a call from my daughter that she had water in her closet and feared that she had a broken pipe in the wall. What she had was a hose faucet with the hose still attached and she had not removed the hose during the winter months. It had frozen and split.
The problem is that when the hose is left attached, the faucet will not drain down properly and will almost always during those cold spells freeze and split.
If you left a hose attached during the winter months, you can do the following. Attach a spray nozzle that can be turned off at the end of the valve or hose. Turn on the valve and listen carefully. If you hear water spraying or see water coming out from behind the valve, immediately turn of the valve and call a plumber or seek advice on how you may be able to take care of the problem yourself.
Another reason the hose valve may freeze during those cold spells is the improper installation when the home was originally built. Hose valves need to be sloped away from the house so that proper drainage of the valve can be accomplished.
Below are two pictures of a frozen and split hose valve.
Unnoticed, defective or leaking hose valves can lead to extensive and costly water damage over time.
By Ray Sr.