Do Outdoor Faucet Covers Work? 5 Benefits of Using Them to Defeat Frost and Grime
Discover the cover!
Highlights
An outdoor faucet cover typically costs $5 to $20.
Outdoor faucet covers are incredibly cost-effective and durable.
Your entire plumbing system and home are safer with an outdoor faucet cover.
Outdoor faucet covers keep unwanted guests out, be they humans or creepy-crawlies.
When winter comes, you're probably all cozy indoors, watching the snow fall with a cup of hot chocolate in your hands. But that's not the case for your outdoor faucet, which is taking a brutal beating from blizzards. So, do faucet covers really work? Not only do faucet covers keep your faucet and pipeworks just as cozy as you, but you’ll also enjoy cleaner water for your garden without having to worry about frozen pipes. We'll show you even more benefits of installing an outdoor faucet cover.
5 Benefits of Outdoor Faucet Covers
Yes, faucet covers do work. To provide more insight into the many ways they do their important job, here are five top benefits of protecting your outdoor spigots with a faucet cover.
Faucet Covers Produce Cleaner Water
Most people don't take a swig from a garden hose on a hot day, so not as much thought is given to the quality and cleanliness of outdoor water. But dirty water from an outdoor faucet can affect your indoor water supply, contaminate your plants and vegetable gardens, and cause numerous illnesses. If a disaster or plumbing mishap occurs and that dirty water is standing, it can make you and other members of your household incredibly sick and harm local ecosystems.
Depending on where you live, your outdoor faucet might be a breeding ground for dust, bacteria, mold, and insects. By installing a faucet cover, you can keep these things out and keep the water clean as a result. Using a faucet cover year-round can prevent potentially deadly health issues like gastroenteritis and bacterial infections.
They Also Protect Your Pipes
Pipes are works of wonder that transport water from one place to another. They're also complex systems that can be finicky. Gross stuff builds up in pipes, they get rusty, they’ll wear down with age, and winters are especially hard on them. Frozen pipes can burst, creating an expensive mess and cutting off your water supply.
An outdoor faucet cover is extremely helpful for winterizing outdoor plumbing and helps to freeze-proof faucets. However, using it year-round also has major benefits for your pipes. When it's like a tundra outside, faucet covers trap heat from your indoor plumbing and send some of that cozy sweater warmth to the pipes. This protects both the faucet and the pipes from freezing and subsequently bursting.
They Make Homes Less Drafty
There's nothing worse than cranking the heat up when you're cold and your living room feels like a sauna, yet a draft is still running down your back. Most people tend to look at aged or faulty insulation, cracks that need caulking, or HVAC issues, like leaky ducts, when that persistent shiver doesn't go away. But outdoor faucets are a frequently overlooked source of drafts.
Outdoor faucets are like tree roots in that they go much, much deeper than you think. Cracks and holes can form around them, and caulking doesn't always solve the problem. This is because the plumbing for outdoor faucets goes all the way into other parts of your home, like garages, crawlspaces, and other areas that reach freezing temperatures. Even if you insulate a crawl space, your heating system isn't reaching it.
Using a faucet cover puts a stop to those unwanted drafts.
They Prevent Other People From Getting Into Your Water Supply
Depending on where you live, you might luck out with neighbors worthy of a 1980s family-friendly sitcom. Your luck can also go the other way, and you'll have neighbors who don't exactly understand the concept of personal property.
Other people using your water supply can easily run up your water bill. Even if you have guests who are wanted, like renovation services, they might get too zealous with the outdoor tap when they don't need it for the job. Your children also might be curious to see if that outdoor faucet is just like the ones indoors and leave it running.
Faucet covers can prevent both permitted and unwanted users from turning the faucet on and creating a pricey, watery mess. There are locking models available so that you have peace of mind that they won't be removed easily.
Faucet Covers Keep Pests Out
Not only do outdoor faucet covers prevent people who shouldn't be in your yard from accessing the water supply, but they also keep critters out.
Mice, hornets, ants, termites, and numerous other things that crawl, fly, and bite can enter your home through the pipes. The outdoor faucet is an accessible entry point where they can easily create a nest that quickly becomes a full-blown infestation.
Is It Worth It to Get an Outdoor Faucet Cover?
Getting an outdoor faucet cover is definitely worth it. A basic outdoor faucet cover usually only costs $5 or less. Higher-end models that come with locks cost between $15 and $20. They are extremely durable and will last several years, so you don’t need to replace them constantly. Outdoor faucet covers are also made of foam that’s very easy to clean and doesn’t absorb water, so maintaining them isn’t difficult or expensive.
Installation is equally simple and doesn’t require intensive DIY know-how and experience. You don’t need to call a local plumber to pop the cover on since you’re just protecting the faucet, not installing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Winterizing your outdoor plumbing keeps your outdoor spigot from freezing and potentially bursting. This includes draining residual water out of the pipe and spigot after turning the valve off, then removing garden hoses and other attachments from the spigot before winter comes. Insulating the pipe that leads to the spigot and installing a freeze-proof faucet also help, as does installing an outdoor faucet protector.
You can DIY an outdoor faucet cover in a pinch. Grab a durable plastic bag, an old rag, and duct tape, and you can cover the faucet. Strong plastic that pinches at the ends, like the kind found in haircare bonnets, can also work. But since a real outdoor faucet cover is so inexpensive (usually $5 or less), easy to install, and readily available online and in hardware stores, there's no need to make your own unless it's a stopgap until you buy one.
Installing an outdoor faucet cover is very easy. You don't even need any tools because the covers are made of foam and don't require any screwing or drilling. All you need to do is loop the faucet cover over the faucet and press it against the wall firmly. On most models, a drawstring will pop out and you pull it back like you're tightening the hood on a jacket.