After a long winter, it’s finally spring!

That means it’s time to start prepping your lawn for the warmer months.

We hope you remembered to turn off your hose bibb – commonly known as a spigot or outdoor tap – before winter hit.

If so, now you’ll need to turn it back on! We’ll walk you through how to do just that in a few easy steps.

How to turn your hose bibb on this spring

1. Locate your hose bibb. If you winterized it and covered it with insulated covers to keep it protected, remove those. If you’re not sure where your hose bibb is, call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and we’ll help you out.

2. Make sure it is indeed closed by turning the handle clockwise until it stops.

3. Find the shut off valve for the hose bibb. It is probably in your basement or on the other side of the wall opposite the bibb. It could also be in a crawl space or utility closet.

4. Tighten the bleeder cap. The bleeder cap looks like a small knob on the side of the pipe, usually an inch away from the valve. Turn it clockwise. You can test it to see if it’s closed by switching on your main valve – if water comes through, it’s still open.

5. Open the water valve. You’ll need to turn this valve counterclockwise to get the water flowing.

6. Inspect the area for leaks. Look around the water valve and bleeder cap to see if there are any cracks or water coming through parts of the pipe.

7. Test the hose bibb. Go out to the hose bibb and make sure there aren’t any leaks there, either. Turn it on by turning the knob counterclockwise.

8. Connect your garden hose. Now it’s time to attach your garden hose to the bibb. Be sure to form a tight seal between the hose bibb and the hose so you don’t waste water.

Forget to turn off the water to the hose bibb last fall, or to disconnect your hose?

Snow and ice are extremely hard on garden hoses, often causing them to split or crack. And if you don’t shut off the water to the hose bibb, the bibb can freeze solid and even lead to burst pipes.

It doesn’t take long for hoses to freeze, either – about six hours when the temperature is below freezing.

If your hose bibb and its components are damaged after a rough winter, please give us a call at 1-877-BEN-1776 or contact us online.

And be sure to put winterizing your pipes, sprinklers, and other plumbing fixtures on your to do list for next fall. We recommend that you start the winterization process about two weeks before your area experiences its usual first freeze.