I have 2 hose connections outside my house that I'd like to winterize now that the weather is getting colder. As I understand it (this is only my second winter in the house), the idea is the shut the water going outside via a valve on the pipe inside the house, and then open the spigot outside so the water can drain. That way my pipes won't freeze.
Problem is, both shut off valves don't seem to fully "shut off". That is, there is a slow drip coming out of both of them, enough to fill a flower pot in a couple of hours, apparently.
So, I have 2 questions:
1) Is it dangerous to let them drip? I would assume since the water is actually escaping the pipe, it won't freeze in the pipe so that's probably OK, right?
2) How do I fix it because I'd rather not have them dripping all winter for obvious reasons!
Here's what each valve looks like:
![Image]()
![Image]()
Problem is, both shut off valves don't seem to fully "shut off". That is, there is a slow drip coming out of both of them, enough to fill a flower pot in a couple of hours, apparently.
So, I have 2 questions:
1) Is it dangerous to let them drip? I would assume since the water is actually escaping the pipe, it won't freeze in the pipe so that's probably OK, right?
2) How do I fix it because I'd rather not have them dripping all winter for obvious reasons!
Here's what each valve looks like:
