Four ways an outdoor faucet goes wrong
Start by noticing which of these you have. The cause and the urgency are very different.
Drips from the spout when it is off
Usually a worn washer or seat. This is the common, low-urgency fault and a simple repair.
Leaks around the handle
Water at the stem when the faucet is on points to worn packing or a loose packing nut.
Water inside the wall or ceiling
If you find damp drywall, a stain or dripping in the basement near the faucet, the pipe behind it may be split. Treat that as urgent.
Handle will not turn, or turns freely
A seized stem, or a stem that spins without opening or closing, means internal parts have failed. Do not force it.
The safe order when it leaks or you suspect a freeze
Work in this sequence. Skipping to the faucet itself is how a drip becomes a flood.
Take the hose off
Disconnect and drain every hose, splitter and timer. A hose left on holds water against the faucet and is the usual cause of winter trouble.
Close the indoor shutoff
Many outdoor faucets have their own valve inside, often in a basement or utility space where the line passes through the wall. Close it first.
Open the outdoor faucet
With the valve closed, open the faucet to drain what is left in the line, and leave it open until you know what is wrong.
Look before you thaw
Check the wall inside for wet spots. Never use a torch or open flame on a suspected frozen pipe. If water is already moving where it should not, call.
Allendale, MI: how many nights a year the spigot is exposed
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Grand Rapids airport, about 16 miles east of Allendale, show 133 days a year with a low at or below 32 F. They also show 52 days at or below 20 F and about 4 days at or below 0 F. Allendale sits closer to Lake Michigan, so local numbers can differ.
That means more than a third of the year has freezing nights. Take the hose off when the first frosts arrive, not when a cold snap is forecast.
The National Weather Service logged minus 19 F at a station 1 mile south-southwest of Allendale on 15 January 2024, and minus 13 F in Allendale on 24 January 2026. Those are temperature readings only. They are a reminder that the short stretch of pipe at your exterior wall gets cold quickly, whatever the average winter looks like.
Source: NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals (Grand Rapids airport station) and National Weather Service Grand Rapids storm summaries.
About the 42-inch frost depth you may have heard
Michigan's residential code table lists a 42-inch frost line depth, but that figure is for footings and foundations. It is not a rule for how deep water pipes are buried, and it says nothing about the exposed pipe at your outside wall. Do not assume a water line is protected just because a frost depth exists.
DIY fix or call a plumber?
A rough decision aid. When in doubt about anything inside a wall, call.
| What you see | A reasonable first move | Call a plumber when |
|---|---|---|
| Drip from the spout, faucet off | Replace the washer and check the seat after closing the water | The seat is pitted or the drip returns |
| Leak at the handle only when on | Snug the packing nut slightly, or replace the packing | Tightening does not stop it or the stem is corroded |
| Water or stain inside, near the faucet | Close the indoor valve at once | Always. The pipe behind the wall may be split |
| No water after a freeze | Leave the faucet open, keep the area warm and wait | Water appears indoors or the faucet will not thaw |
| Faucet is loose on the wall | Stop using it and shut it off | Always. The pipe behind it can stress and fail |
Not sure what is behind the wall?
Call the 24/7 line. We will walk through the shutoff order with you and tell you what needs a visit.
Call (855) 575-2890What a repair or replacement usually involves
A washer, seat or packing repair on a standard faucet takes a few turns of a wrench. A frost-proof faucet has a long stem that reaches inside the heated space, and the shutoff happens well inside the wall, which is why a worn one is trickier. If the faucet needs replacing, the connection is inside the wall, and that is work for a plumber.
A good faucet repair visit checks the interior valve, the slope of the faucet toward the outside and whether a vacuum breaker is leaking at the top. If a pipe has split, you are looking at a burst pipe repair, where the first job is stopping the water and the second is looking at what got wet.
We take hose bib calls in Allendale and in nearby towns like Coopersville and Marne. The shutoff order is the same everywhere, so you can start it before we arrive.
Fall routine that avoids most spigot calls
- Remove hoses, splitters and timers before the first hard frost.
- Close the indoor shutoff for each outdoor faucet and open the outdoor one to drain.
- Watch for a drip when the faucet is off. A small drip left alone gets worse.
- Check the wall inside near each faucet in spring, when the water goes back on, and watch for damp spots.
- Know where each indoor shutoff is, and make sure everyone in the house does too.