Inspect all water valves
Water valves and spigots should be inspected to make sure they are operating properly. These valves could either get worn out because of constant use and thus be a source of water leaks, or they could get stiff and corroded with lack of use causing them to not work. You should always know where you main water shut off valves are in case of a serious plumbing leak where you can stop the leak by shutting off the water supply.
- Type:
- Maintenance
- Space / Item:
- Season:
- Spring
- Time of Year:
- March
- Frequency
- Annually
How to fix a leaky spigot or hose bibb
Many spigots leak after extended use when you have the valve open and running water through a garden hose. The most common reason is the packing nut under the valve is loose and needs to be tightened. This is done with a set of channel locks or a crescent wrench and tightening the packing nut.
In addition, many garden hoses also leak on the other end where you have a sprayer attached to the hose. If it is leaking here, shut the water off and disconnect the sprayer. Check inside the sprayer to make sure you have a rubber hose washer inside. Yours might be old and hardened and it needs to be replaced. Once you replace it, your connection between the hose and sprayer should not leak anymore.
We found a video from ProVideo22 that illustrates how to fix these items.
