Every winter in Mission, Watson Ink Plumbing responds to a predictable wave of service calls: frozen outdoor taps, cracked hose bibs, and burst pipes in crawl spaces and garages. Most of them are preventable with an hour of work in the fall.

Mission’s climate is a particular challenge for outdoor plumbing. Temperatures hover near zero for weeks at a time, regularly dipping below freezing overnight even when daytime temps are above. That freeze-thaw cycle — not deep sustained cold — is what cracks pipes. Water expands when it freezes, and if that expansion happens inside a pipe or tap that has nowhere to give, something breaks. Our guide on protecting your home from frozen pipes covers more general winterization tips for your entire home.

Understanding Hose Bibs

The outdoor tap on your house — the one you connect a garden hose to — is called a hose bib or sillcock. There are two main types in Mission homes:

Standard (non-frost-free) hose bibs are the older style, found in most Mission homes built before the 1990s. When you close the valve, water stops at the outside of the wall — which means any water sitting in the exterior section of the tap is exposed to freezing temperatures. These require proper winterization every fall without exception.

Frost-free hose bibs are designed so the shutoff point is 6 to 12 inches inside the heated wall. When you close the valve, water drains from the exposed section. They significantly reduce freeze risk — but they’re not foolproof. If a garden hose is left attached when temperatures drop, water is trapped in the line and the tap can still freeze and crack. Frost-free bibs also fail over time and sometimes need replacement.

How to Winterize Standard Outdoor Taps

For standard hose bibs, the process is straightforward:

1. Disconnect all garden hoses. A hose left on an outdoor tap traps water and guarantees a freeze. Do this first, every fall, no exceptions.
2. Locate the indoor shutoff valve for the outdoor tap. This is usually in the basement or crawl space, on the pipe running toward the exterior wall. It looks like a small ball valve or gate valve.
3. Close the indoor shutoff. Turn it clockwise (gate valve) or perpendicular to the pipe (ball valve).
4. Open the outdoor tap to drain any remaining water from the pipe between the shutoff and the exterior. Leave it open until water stops dripping.
5. Close the outdoor tap. The pipe is now drained and protected.

If your home doesn’t have an individual shutoff for the outdoor tap — common in older Mission homes — that’s a good upgrade to add. Watson Ink Plumbing installs them routinely as part of fall plumbing prep.

Frost-Free Hose Bibs: What Still Needs Attention

Even with a frost-free hose bib, there’s still one critical step: disconnect the hose before temperatures drop. A hose attached to a frost-free bib holds water in the external section that the frost-free design can’t drain. When that water freezes, the internal valve seal is the part that cracks — an expensive repair that a frost-free bib was supposed to prevent.

Beyond hose disconnection, frost-free bibs should be checked periodically for:

• Dripping after you close the valve (worn internal stem washer)
• Leaking around the handle (packing nut needs tightening or replacing)
• Reduced flow (debris or mineral buildup in the vacuum breaker)

If your frost-free bib is more than 10 to 15 years old and showing any of these signs, fall is the right time to replace it — before winter makes a cracked tap urgent.

Other Vulnerable Spots to Check Before Winter

Pipes in the Crawl Space

Crawl spaces in Mission homes are often unheated and poorly insulated. Any supply line running through a crawl space is vulnerable when temperatures drop. Inspect for pipes close to vents or exterior walls, and add pipe insulation foam sleeves where needed. If there are significant gaps in the crawl space skirting or vents that let cold air flow directly onto pipes, seal them before December.

Garage Plumbing

If your garage has a utility sink, water supply line, or floor drain, those lines run through an unheated space. A single cold night with the garage door open can be enough. Pipe insulation and a door sweep are cheap insurance. For water lines you rarely use in winter, shutting them off and draining them is the safest option.

Pipes Along Exterior Walls

Inside the home, pipes that run along exterior walls — particularly on the north side of older Mission homes with minimal wall insulation — are at risk. Cabinet doors left open under kitchen sinks on exterior walls help warm air circulate around the pipes. For persistent cold-weather problems in the same spots every year, a plumber can reroute supply lines to interior walls.

Irrigation Systems

If you have an in-ground irrigation system, it needs to be blown out with compressed air before freeze season. Water left in underground irrigation lines expands when frozen and cracks the pipe or fittings. This is typically done by an irrigation company, but Watson Ink Plumbing handles the indoor shutoff and drain-down for the supply side.

What to Do If a Pipe Has Already Frozen

If you turn on a tap in winter and nothing comes out — or pressure drops suddenly — you may have a frozen line. A few important steps:

• Do not use an open flame to thaw a pipe. It’s a fire hazard and can damage the pipe.
• Apply gentle heat with a hair dryer, heating pad, or electric heat tape — working from the tap toward the frozen section.
• Keep the tap open so water can flow as it thaws — this also relieves pressure.
• If you can’t locate the frozen section, or pressure doesn’t return after warming, call a plumber. The pipe may already be cracked and you’ll want that assessed before water starts flowing again.

The most expensive part of a frozen pipe isn’t the repair — it’s the water damage after it thaws and the crack opens up. Don’t assume a frozen pipe is fine just because nothing is leaking yet.

One Hour in Fall Saves a Service Call in January

Winterizing outdoor taps is not complicated. It takes an hour on a dry fall afternoon and costs nothing if your shutoff valves are in good shape. Watson Ink Plumbing is happy to walk through it with you, upgrade aging hose bibs before winter, or add shutoff valves to outdoor lines that don’t have them.

Serving Mission, Abbotsford, Langley, and Chilliwack — get in touch before the cold sets in.