Unhook Your Hose This Fall: Protect Your Home From Costly Damage
- The DMI Group
- Sep 11
- 3 min read
Fall is the season of preparation. As temperatures drop and winter approaches, homeowners are busy checking off seasonal tasks—clearing gutters, sealing windows, scheduling furnace maintenance. One step that often gets overlooked, however, is disconnecting the garden hose from the outdoor hose bib.
It’s a small task, but skipping it can have major consequences. At Gibellino Construction, we’ve seen how a forgotten hose can turn into a costly water damage restoration project. The good news: prevention is simple and takes just minutes.
Why Disconnecting Matters
Your hose bib, or outdoor faucet, is one of the most vulnerable parts of your plumbing system during cold weather. When water is trapped in the line and temperatures drop below freezing, the water expands as it turns to ice. That expansion creates pressure, and if the pipe can’t handle it, it will crack or burst.
Most modern homes are equipped with frost-free hose bibs, designed so the actual shut-off mechanism is located inside the warmer portion of your home. This design helps protect the pipe from freezing. However, the system only works if water is able to drain properly.
When a garden hose is left attached, water stays trapped in the line, right where it’s most at risk of freezing. Even with a frost-free bib, the result can be a burst pipe hidden inside your wall or foundation.
The Cost of Forgetting
Damage from a burst hose bib is rarely visible right away. In fact, many homeowners don’t discover the problem until spring when they first turn on the faucet. Instead of flowing into the yard, the water seeps inside the home—into basements, crawl spaces, or wall cavities.
The damage can be significant:
Wet drywall and flooring
Damaged insulation
Mold growth within days
Structural issues in severe cases
A $10 hose left connected all winter can lead to thousands of dollars in repairs.
A Simple Fall Checklist
Protecting your home takes just a few minutes:
Unhook the hose. Detach it completely from the faucet.
Drain the hose. Shake out excess water and store it in a garage or shed.
Check the bib. Look for leaks or drips. Address issues before cold weather sets in.
Shut off the supply. If your home has an interior shut-off valve for the exterior faucet, close it and open the outdoor faucet to allow any remaining water to drain.
Consider insulation. In colder regions, inexpensive hose bib covers add extra protection.
This short checklist helps ensure your plumbing is ready for winter and greatly reduces the risk of costly damage.
When Damage Still Happens
Even with preparation, unexpected issues can occur. An early freeze, aging plumbing, or unnoticed leaks may still lead to water damage. When that happens, having an experienced restoration partner makes all the difference.
Gibellino Construction has been helping families protect and restore their homes since 1948. Over three generations, we’ve built a reputation for quality, attention to detail, and customer satisfaction. Today, we specialize in property damage restoration, bringing the same “Pride of Craftsmanship” to repairs as we do to new construction.
Whether it’s water, fire, storm, or structural damage, our team is here to restore your home quickly, safely, and with the professionalism you deserve.
Protect Your Home This Season
As you prepare for the colder months, don’t overlook the small details that make a big difference. Disconnecting your garden hose this fall is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent costly water damage.
It only takes a few minutes, but it could save you thousands of dollars and weeks of disruption in the future. And if the unexpected does happen, you can count on Gibellino Construction to restore your home with skill, care, and craftsmanship built on more than 75 years of experience.
