Beware of the Spring Flood | Oklahoma City Plumbing

So, you’ve braved the worst of the winter weather, you’ve begun to see the days turn longer, the air feel warmer, and you start spending more time outside. You’ll probably notice the little projects that have either been neglected or delayed by the cold. Maybe the flower beds or the cluttered garage need to be tidied up. Well, chances are, you’ll need a little water or, more than likely, a lot of it at some point. 

Whether watering new plants or trees or washing away all that dirt and salt, you need water. So you drag out the old watering hose, the sprinkler, or your favorite sprayer. Then you hook it up to your outside faucet and turn it on. You could wash the car and then see half a dozen other things that need to be cleaned, and then you could get the sprinkler hooked up and water the lawn. After you do all those things, you’re feeling satisfied and probably ready for a nice shower or maybe just a sandwich. But when you walk inside prepared to enjoy the rest of the weekend, you find your house has flooded. 

Let me tell you, there’s nothing worse than stepping onto a sopping wet floor, especially in carpeted areas. After you process what happened, you have to figure out where the water is coming from, or maybe you turn the water off to the house. Maybe you don’t know how to, or you just can’t. So you have to call a plumber or the municipal water supply and have the water turned off. No matter what happens after that, it will ruin all your plans that day.

This is a common scenario we see during the change from winter to spring, and it’s almost always preventable. It’s your outside faucet. It has yet to leak all year long and worked all year long before the winter weather. So, why did it only show its ugly little head now? On the prettiest day of the whole year? And, of course, it also happens to be on a Saturday! Well, it’s not because you crossed the path of a black cat or stepped on a crack that didn’t break your mother’s back. It’s because someone may have (probably did) leave the hose attached to the faucet during the winter.

The outside faucets are designed to be frostproof in areas with freezing weather. Most are about 12 to 14 inches long and have a long tube that connects the spout to the water connection inside the wall. This protects the water lines inside your house from freezing. However, it does not work if a hose is left on. It’s a part of the faucet that can burst during a freeze, but it won’t leak until you use it. Since you’re outside when you do, you won’t notice it until you go back inside. Then you realize that you get the wonderful experience of dealing with the Spring Flood!

So here are three simple things you can do to make sure that never happens to you:

#1 Disconnect all of the hoses from the outside faucets in the late fall.

#2 Cover the faucets with an insulated cap until spring. Most home or hardware store stock them #3 Before you spend too much time outside and after you turn your faucet on, go back inside to the area where your faucet would be and check for signs of a water leak. When you’re sure you don’t have a leak go back outside and enjoy the weather!

Don’t set yourself up for a ruined weekend! Follow these steps every winter and spring, and you can count on never having to experience that.

Here at Lakeshore Plumbing, Heating, and Air, we offer top-tier service, the best materials and the best warranty. Spring will be here before you know it so call and schedule an AC tune-up. We can check your plumbing, make any repairs, and save some heartache at the same time. If you need plumbing repair in Oklahoma City, reach out today! 

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