October 16, 2026 • 3 min read
Outdoor faucets are the first thing in your home to freeze, and the last thing most people think about.
Water left in the tap, or in the pipe behind it, can freeze and expand until the line splits. That turns a five minute task in October into a leak, a burst pipe or a flooded basement in January.
The City of Toronto’s advice is short: unscrew any hoses, turn off the outdoor water supply and let the taps drain. It applies the same way in Mississauga, Vaughan, Oakville or anywhere else across the GTA.
Before the first frost. The City of Toronto is specific about the timing, and the reason is that outdoor faucets freeze before anything else in the house.
Once you are finished with the hose for the season and overnight temperatures start dipping toward zero, put it on the list. Do not wait for a January cold snap.
1. Disconnect the hose. Take off hoses, splitters, sprinklers and anything else attached. A connected hose stops the faucet and water line from draining properly. Drain the hose before you store it.
2. Find the indoor shut-off valve. It sits on the pipe running through the foundation to the outdoor faucet, usually in the basement or utility room. More than one outdoor faucet often means more than one valve.
3. Turn off the outdoor water supply. Close that valve. If you are not sure which one feeds the faucet, do not start turning valves at random.
4. Open the outdoor faucet. Go back outside and let whatever is left in the line drain out. The point is to leave no water sitting in a pipe that is about to freeze.
5. Insulate what is exposed. Check plumbing near outside walls, in the garage, the crawl space and the attic. The City recommends foam pipe covers for the pipes most prone to freezing.
Water expands as it freezes. In a sealed section of pipe it has nowhere to go, so pressure builds until something gives.
The split often is not obvious until the thaw, when the line is under pressure again and the water finds the crack. The faucet itself is the cheap part. The damage behind the wall is not.
Yes. Frost-free means the shut-off sits further back inside the heated part of the wall, not that the faucet drains itself.
At a minimum, disconnect the hose so it can drain as designed. Many frost-free setups also have a small bleeder cap on the indoor valve that needs to be opened to clear the line. If yours has one and it stays shut, water stays in the pipe.
Never use an open flame. The City of Toronto calls a torch a fire hazard and rules out kerosene heaters, propane heaters and charcoal stoves along with it. A hair dryer, electric heating pad, space heater or warm towel will do the work, and the City says not to leave electrical devices unattended while they do.
Outdoor faucets are one line on a longer list. Our fall home maintenance checklist covers the rest, and gutters are worth doing in the same weekend.
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