It’s a good idea to actually go outside and make sure all hoses have been removed from your outside sillcocks. I can say this because we thought we had done so and found out last weekend that we still had one hose hooked up. You don’t want to leave hoses hooked up over the winter. Then you should make sure you have drained the sillcock line.

If you leave the hose attached it airlocks the water into the faucet tube and won’t let it drain out. This water freezes, expands and splits the copper tubing. Even if you have a frost free faucet you still should shut off the supply valve inside (each faucet should have its own shut off) and open the faucet and drain any water in it as a secondary precaution as we have seen these fail and freeze which can cause flooding in the house. It will only take a few minutes and could save you a lot of heartache later.

Then periodically throughout the winter months, look at your sillcocks and make sure there aren’t any ice cycles forming from the spout. This would indicate your sillcock or your inside shut off valve is not functioning properly and needs fixed right away.