mbruno
New Member
Hello.
I'm not a plumber, but just hoping to get some well educated opinions.
I decided to wash my truck for the first time after winter this morning, and was about 1/2 way done when I heard "the basement is filling with water!!" being screamed at me by my wife. I ran downstairs and was stunned to see our rec room completely saturated with water.
I'd heard of the frost-free bibs cracking in the winter when people leave the hose connected, but I had taken off the hose in the fall like I do every fall. I called a plumber, and he saw the problem right away - the frost free bib was sloped back towards the house, which caused it to not drain, and freeze over the winter.
The plumber replaced the bib, but now I'm paranoid - It seems to me that the new bib isn't draining enough water when I remove the hose. How do I test it to make sure it's draining properly? In the fall, is it a good idea to vacuum out the bib to suck out any water that may be left in the valve when I take the hose off for the season? I'm worried that settling may cause the bib to again become sloped towards the house and that I'll end up with the same problem. What other ways are there to prevent this from happening again? Is it helpfull to cover up the bibs with rags in the fall?
By the way, I live in BC Canada, where winters see temperatures of down to -30 at times.
One last thing... The plumber didn't fully tighten one of the 2 screws that holds the bib in place. Is there a reason for this, or am I OK to tighten it so the bib can't move back and forth at all?
Thank you very much for your help!
I'm not a plumber, but just hoping to get some well educated opinions.
I decided to wash my truck for the first time after winter this morning, and was about 1/2 way done when I heard "the basement is filling with water!!" being screamed at me by my wife. I ran downstairs and was stunned to see our rec room completely saturated with water.
I'd heard of the frost-free bibs cracking in the winter when people leave the hose connected, but I had taken off the hose in the fall like I do every fall. I called a plumber, and he saw the problem right away - the frost free bib was sloped back towards the house, which caused it to not drain, and freeze over the winter.
The plumber replaced the bib, but now I'm paranoid - It seems to me that the new bib isn't draining enough water when I remove the hose. How do I test it to make sure it's draining properly? In the fall, is it a good idea to vacuum out the bib to suck out any water that may be left in the valve when I take the hose off for the season? I'm worried that settling may cause the bib to again become sloped towards the house and that I'll end up with the same problem. What other ways are there to prevent this from happening again? Is it helpfull to cover up the bibs with rags in the fall?
By the way, I live in BC Canada, where winters see temperatures of down to -30 at times.
One last thing... The plumber didn't fully tighten one of the 2 screws that holds the bib in place. Is there a reason for this, or am I OK to tighten it so the bib can't move back and forth at all?
Thank you very much for your help!