Why You Need Outdoor Tap Cover for Winter?

During the winter season, the temperature falls below zero, and at that time water in the pipes may freeze and can cause floods in your house. But you can avoid these by protecting your outdoor water taps with a cover.

What do you do with outside taps in winter?

If you have a house of your own it is necessary to protect your outside water taps in winter, because the excessive cold temperature can freeze the water inside the pipe. When the water freezes it expands which in turn increases the pressure inside the pipes and in time the pipes will burst with the temperature rise. So, you must use an outdoor tap cover to escape from this kind of emergency or crisis.

Water being a heat conductor, if the water stays in the pipe during the extreme winter season, it is very much obvious that the outside cold temperature will travel through those pipes and eventually to your home. So, if you don’t cover your outside faucets, the water in the pipe will freeze and it will burst to result in a broken pipe. So, you are going to need a repair, but in that kind of weather or season, it is quite impossible to get a plumber immediately. Also, if you do not shut off the water taps, then when the water inside the pipe expands due to cold temperature it may result in flooding inside your house and it will damage whatever it can in your house.

How to get an outdoor tap cover and use it?

To protect your outdoor faucets from getting frozen or protecting your house from getting flooded it is necessary to cover them.

• Soft faucet covers: The soft faucet covers are made up of polyester or vinyl and they have thick insulation for your outdoor faucets. They consist of long ties to protect the taps. These types of covers can be installed very easily. They are very much flexible and can be stored in your house easily.
• Hard faucet covers: These hard faucet covers are made up of Styrofoam and the exterior part is made of hard plastic. They also can be easily installed and provide good protection to your faucets. The drawbacks of these kinds of covers are they can’t be stored in your house as it takes up a huge space.
• DIY faucet covers: If you don’t want to buy any outdoor tap covers, you can make some of your own. This method requires a plastic bag, t-shirts, and duct tape.
• Disconnect any hoses for the outdoor faucets
• Then wrap the outdoor taps with the t-shirts
• Use the plastic bags to cover up the fabric insulation
• And use duct tape to secure the bags.

At what temp will water freeze in a garden hose?

Generally, the outside taps take 6 to 8 hours for freezing completely. As the garden hoses are made up of thin material, they will take much less time to freeze during the winter season. And this will completely depend on the material of hose and the temperature. If the garden hose freezes the water inside the hose will expand and the lining of the hose will become weak. This will create many problems and the water lines may reside in your home.

Should I disconnect my garden hose in the winter? and how do I protect it?

If you do not disconnect your garden hoses during winter then when the temperature drops below the freezing point the remaining water in the face will freeze and this will result in damaging the material of the hose by splitting it up.

The best way by which you can keep your garden hose in perfect shape and will avoid any kind of damage during winter is by disconnecting the hose, this will prevent the end of the hose from freezing, and releasing all the water that may be left there inside the hose and bringing the garden hose into your house.

Thus, it is quite necessary for your and your house to cover all the outdoor faucets as well as the garden hoses as soon as the winter arrives. You should take the applicable actions before the water freezes inside the pipe and cause any kind of damage to the pipes. This will also help your house from getting flooded and any unnecessary emergency.

Buy outdoor tap cover on Amazon