Don’t Forget the Hose!

Wow! We went right from summer into winter skipping fall altogether! Believe it or not, winter IS coming quickly! Now, we know you are on top of things and had the foresight to have your sprinkler lines blown out and you remembered to check your antifreeze and battery in your vehicle. But did you overlook something? Something even more damaging than freezing your sprinkler system that could cause a disaster in Billings, Montana?

How about that faucet that you hook your garden hose up to? Oh, you shut it off at the valve. Great! But did you remember to disconnect your hose?

Why do that, You ask? Well, if you understand how those frost proof bibs work, you would know that water left in the hose and valve WILL freeze, expand, and break your valve sleeve which happens to be inside your home!

So…If you forget to remove your hose from the hose bib, the  frost proof valve sleeve will be full of water and will probably freeze. When water you freezes it will expand and burst your valve. But you won’t know it until next spring when you turn on the faucet to wash your car. Did you know that while you are washing your  car, water will be running down inside your basement wall? It will stop when you turn off the valve so you may not discover your flood until much later…long enough for mold to form inside your walls!

Please remember to shut off your faucet and REMOVE your hose to allow the device to drain or you’ll be calling us to repair the damage along with a plumber to replace the valve assembly. You should also put one of those Styrofoam cups over the valve on the side of your house to further protect your plumbing. One simple action could save you a big headache next spring!

Give us Americlean a call if you have questions, and certainly, call us right away when you discover water damage has occurred in your home or disaster in Billings, MT.