It’s Spring, time to freeze proof the exterior your homes plumbing system.

What better time to tackle home maintenance tasks that will pay off dividends later than spring time in Michigan. The weather is pleasant, not too hot, not too cold. Now is time to think about and replace all the exterior hose bibs. Don’t fret however you are not reinventing the wheel. There are products out there that make the job doable.

What to do.

First, look at your exterior hose bibs. Do they have a way to be drained back into the home? Maybe a shutoff valve of some sort? Take a look. If so you’re in luck. Just note the location of the valve and make a mental note to turn it off before the first freeze happens. If they don’t have the valve, are they already designed to be an anti-freeze bib? To know look to see if there is a knob on the top of the valve. Shut off the water and open the knob. if a small amount of water drains out and stops then again, you’re in luck. You have anti-freeze hose bibs installed and only need to drain the line just before the first freeze.
Don’t have either of those two features then you might need to hire a plumber to install one of the options mentioned. Its money well spent. Freezing of even a small amount of water in the hose bib supply line can cause the pipe to split. When it thaws out you have a leak inside a wall. Never a good thing and frequently a huge mess to deal with.

Who to contact

Need a Kalamazoo area home inspector that is going to know these things and keep them in mind when inspecting your new potential home? HomeSpec does that. Please call us or visit our web site if we can help.

Todd Miller
HomeSpec Certified Inspections, LLC
Kalamazoo and SW Michigan
www.homespecmi.com
269-425-1203
homespecoffice@gmail.com