Fix your leaky hose bib today!

The hose bib is an outdoor faucet. Leaky hose bibs are not only wasteful but can cause foundation damage.  A leaky hose bib should be addressed quickly. 

What are the signs of a leaky hose bib?

Water puddles

A leaking hose bib is often to blame if you notice moist soil or water puddles near your foundation. Water can’t naturally drain quickly when an area is overly saturated with moisture. Instead, it gathers and builds up, making the space damp.

Mildew and mold

Moist, humid conditions are ideal for mold and mildew growth. Mold growth may be seen if your foundation is regularly moist as a result of a leaky hose bib. Once you have mold growth it is difficult to get rid of. Additionally, given the appropriate conditions, it has the potential to spread throughout your entire house.

Foundation cracks

Water has a cunning way of entering cracks. Water can enter small foundation cracks by drips from an outside faucet, enlarging them considerably. The expansion of extra moisture in these areas causes mayhem to the foundation of your house

What causes a leaky hose bib?

It’s crucial to identify the problem’s root cause so you can fix it and stop it from happening again. Below are the most frequent causes that we encounter.

Freezing weather conditions

Water can freeze and burst within your pipe if it isn’t properly emptied. Unfortunately, when it’s below freezing outside, most homeowners don’t typically think about their outdoor faucets and don’t discover damage to their outdoor faucets until spring time.

Water damage might occur inside or outside of your home as a result of a frozen pipe.  Consider replacing your conventional outdoor faucet with a Frost-Free hose bib as one option to solve this issue.

Age

A hose bib has a limited lifespan. Age will ultimately start to manifest and have an impact on performance, just like anything else. Your hose bib likely has an identical appearance on the inside if it appears old and worn out on the outside. Over time, mineral deposits accumulate and trap water which can cause leaks over time. Leaks may result from this as well as minor fissures.

Worn-out washer

A valve stem with a little rubber packing washer at the end is located within your outdoor faucet. The seal that the washer creates is degraded as it ages. You have a leak if the water flow cannot be totally halted. Due to use, heat, cold, and aging, these washers wear out.

Packing nut is loose

Your faucet fixture occasionally develops a loose component, notably the packing nut. It lies directly behind the faucet handle and could be the cause of your leak if it is loose.

How Can I Stop the Leak in My Hose Bib?

Try tightening the packing nut if you feel like trying a do-it-yourself fix. To see if it makes a difference, turn the nut a small 1/8 to 1/4 inch turn with an adjustable wrench.  Be careful to not over tighten or you risk damaging the fitting.

It’s likely that the rubber washer or another internal component has to be changed if the leak continues.

In order to prevent making any costly mistakes at this stage, we advise hiring a qualified and experienced plumber.