How to Thaw a Frozen Outdoor Faucet

The outdoor spigot turns but nothing comes out, or it groans and delivers a dribble. Almost every time, the cause is the garden hose still screwed onto it. A frost-free sillcock only drains if its outlet is open, so a hose left on over winter holds water in the barrel, and that water freezes in the section that runs inside the wall, well behind the handle.

Remove the hose

Unscrew the hose before anything else, including any splitter, timer, or quick-connect fitting. If the coupling is frozen to the threads, warm it with a hot wet towel until it turns. Drain the hose and store it out of the weather.

Open the spigot and leave it open

Turn the handle fully open. That gives melt water a way out and keeps pressure from building behind the ice as it releases. Leave it open while thawing and watch for the first dribble, which means flow is returning.

Close the interior shutoff for that line

Many houses have a dedicated valve on the supply line to the outdoor spigot, usually just inside the basement or crawlspace wall where the pipe passes through, sometimes with a small bleeder cap. Close it, then leave the outside spigot open so the line between the two drains itself. If the pipe has split, this valve is what keeps the break from flooding the wall once the ice goes.

Thaw with a hair dryer or hot towels

Warm the spigot and the wall around it with a hair dryer moved back and forth, or wrap the barrel in towels soaked in hot water and replace them as they cool. Never use a blowtorch, a propane torch, or any open flame. A flame on a sillcock heats the wood framing inside the wall it is mounted through, and torch thawing sets houses on fire every winter. Work from the spigot inward and give it time, since a wall run can take half an hour or more.

Watch the wall the first time you use it

A frost-free spigot that split inside the wall often shows nothing at all while the ice holds, and nothing again all winter with the water shut off. The failure appears in spring, when the valve is opened and water pours into the wall cavity instead of out the spout. The first time the line is used after a freeze, have someone stand at the spigot while another person watches the ceiling and wall inside, and shut off the interior valve at the first sign of water.

When to call a licensed plumber. Call if flow never returns, if the handle spins freely, or if any water appears inside the wall. Replacing a sillcock means cutting into the supply line, and a wall already wet needs opening and drying before it molds.