Spring tips from your local plumber
The Leak Blog
Rimrock Plumbing
April 2018
One of these days we’ll wake up to spring weather without a yard of snowy, frozen tundra. The sun will come out and you’ll want to water your lawn and flower pots.
Wait, you all disconnected your garden hoses last fall, right? Good.
In the spring, you must check for a leak below your hose bibs to avoid a potential flood disaster. The hose bib is the thing you attach your hose to on the outside wall that looks like a water faucet. You are going to be sure there wasn’t a water line leak over the winter.
First, connect the hose to the hose bib. Before you turn it on, attach a sprayer or a cap to the end of the hose. Turn off the sprayer so the water does not come out of the end of the hose.
Second, turn on the water all the way at the hose bib, so the hose is fully pressurized but no water is coming out the end.
Third, listen carefully before going to investigate, or sending another family member to investigate for you.
- If you do hear water spraying from inside the house, then quickly turn off the water so you can find the leak in your basement or crawl space.
- If you don’t hear water spraying, keep the water on to the hose and go inside to your basement or crawl space.
Basement: Go to the area of the basement below where the hose bib is located and look for a water leak in the ceiling or water on the wall or floor below.
Crawl space: If you have a crawlspace you will need to get in the crawlspace to visually check. It may be dirty and filled with spider webs, but it is a good idea to look around down there every once in a while. Go to the area below the hose bib and look up to where the pipe is going out to the hose bib. You may see water spraying from a leak in the pipe above or water on the ground.
Slab on grade (home built directly on concrete): the water pipe will be in the wall, so you might hear water spraying inside the wall and you may not see anything.
If you have multiple hose bibs check each one the same way.
If you do find a leak, then call me so we can repair it for you.
Bill Manske, Owner and Master Plumber
