An outdoor faucet leaks in three different places, and each one points to a different repair. A drip from the spout is a worn washer. A leak from the handle is a packing nut. Water showing up behind the wall, under the siding, or in the garage ceiling only when the hose is running is a faucet that split during a freeze and has been waiting for spring to reveal itself. Houston homes see all three, and since the 2021 and 2024 freezes, the third one has become the most common call of the year every March.
This guide shows you how to read the leak, what you can fix with the house water off and a wrench, and when the problem is inside the wall and needs a plumber. If you are not sure where the water is coming from, call or text (713) 409-7176. The visit to find the leak is free.
Know Which Faucet You Have
| Type | How to recognize it | Where it shuts off |
|---|---|---|
| Standard compression hose bib | Short body, round handle, turns several times to close | At the spout, right behind the handle |
| Frost-free sillcock | Long body through the wall, round handle, spout angled down, often a vacuum breaker cap on top | 6 to 24 inches inside the wall, in heated space |
| Quarter-turn ball valve bib | Lever handle, closes in a quarter turn | At the spout |
The type matters because a frost-free bib keeps water out of the exposed part of the faucet when it is closed, which is the whole point. It only works if nothing is attached to the spout. A hose, a splitter, or a timer holds water in the body and defeats the design.
Read the Leak
| Where the water shows up | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Drips from the spout with the handle off | Worn washer or pitted seat | Replace washer; replace faucet if seat is damaged |
| Leaks around the handle stem only while running | Packing washer or packing nut loose | Tighten the packing nut a quarter turn, then replace packing |
| Sprays from the cap on top | Vacuum breaker worn | Replace the vacuum breaker cap or insert |
| Wet wall, siding, or garage ceiling only when the hose runs | Frost-free bib split by freeze, inside the wall | Replace the bib; open the wall if needed |
| Wet spot that never dries, even with faucet off | Pipe leak feeding the faucet | Leak detection and pipe repair |
The last two rows are the ones that do damage. The others waste water and patience.
Fix 1: The Spout Drip
A washer repair works on both standard and frost-free bibs. The frost-free stem is just much longer.
- Shut off the water. Most Houston hose bibs have no dedicated shutoff, so close the house water main and open the faucet to drain pressure.
- Remove the handle screw and handle.
- Unscrew the packing nut behind the handle with an adjustable wrench. Turn counterclockwise.
- Pull the stem out. On a frost-free bib, pull straight back; it may be a foot long. Do not twist it sideways.
- Replace the washer on the end of the stem. Take the old one to the hardware store to match size, or buy an assortment. Replace the small packing washer under the nut while you are there.
- Reassemble, open the main, and test. If it still drips, the brass seat inside the body is pitted from hard-water scale and the faucet should be replaced.
The same logic that applies to a dripping indoor faucet applies here: one washer is a repair, a chewed-up seat is a replacement.
Fix 2: The Handle Leak
Water leaking around the stem only while the faucet runs is the packing, the seal that keeps water from following the stem out. Tighten the packing nut a quarter turn clockwise. If it still weeps, shut the main, remove the nut, and replace the packing washer or wrap a few turns of graphite packing string around the stem under the nut. Over-tightening makes the handle hard to turn, so go a little at a time.
Fix 3: The Vacuum Breaker
The cap on top of most newer bibs is a hose-connection vacuum breaker. It is a backflow device: if street pressure drops while a hose is sitting in a pool, a bucket of fertilizer, or a pet bowl, the breaker stops that water from being pulled back into your house supply. Plumbing code requires one on every hose connection for exactly that reason.
It leaks when its rubber insert wears out or when you shut off the hose at the spray nozzle and leave the faucet on, which traps pressure against it. Most brands sell a replacement cap that threads on in a minute. Do not pry it off and leave the faucet bare. Our backflow testing page explains why these small devices matter more than they look.
The Freeze Problem Houston Keeps Learning
In February 2021 and again in January 2024, Houston went below freezing for long enough that water inside hose bibs froze solid. Standard bibs split at the body. Frost-free bibs, which should have been safe, split inside the wall because a hose was still attached and the body could not drain. Ice expands, the brass or copper cracks, and nothing happens until the thaw.
Then nothing happens for weeks more, because a frost-free bib is only under pressure when it is open. The first warm Saturday someone washes the car or waters the beds, and water runs down the inside of the brick veneer or drips from the garage ceiling. Many homeowners spend a day looking for a roof leak before they connect it to the faucet.
Prevention costs almost nothing:
- Disconnect every hose before the first forecasted freeze, including splitters and timers.
- Let each faucet drip for a minute after disconnecting, so the body drains.
- Put an insulated foam cover over each faucet. They are inexpensive and reusable.
- If you have an interior shutoff for the bib, close it and open the faucet outside.
Our guide to frozen and burst pipes in Houston covers the rest of the house.
When the Leak Is Inside the Wall
A split frost-free bib cannot be repaired. The crack is in the body, somewhere in the wall cavity, and the fix is to replace the whole faucet. Depending on how it was installed, that means:
- Threaded connection inside the wall: reachable from a garage, closet, or attic, the old bib unscrews and a new one threads on. Quick when access exists.
- Soldered copper or crimped PEX: the plumber cuts the old bib out and sweats or crimps a new one on. This often needs a small access hole from inside, which is easier to patch than brick on the outside.
- No access at all: a section of exterior wall or interior drywall comes out. This is where an interior shutoff valve gets added so the next freeze is a non-event.
A wet spot in the wall or ground that stays wet with the faucet closed is not the bib at all. It is the supply pipe feeding it, and in a slab home that pipe usually runs under the slab or through the exterior wall. That calls for leak detection rather than guessing. If the wet area is in the yard rather than at the wall, read our guide on wet spots in the yard that will not dry.
The Water Bill Angle
A spout drip is slow but constant. A split bib leaks hard but only while running. A broken supply pipe leaks constantly and silently. If your water bill jumped, turn everything off in the house, find the meter at the curb, and watch the low-flow indicator for ten minutes. If it moves, water is leaving somewhere, and an outdoor faucet line is one of the first places to look.
When to Call
Call when water appears in the wall, ceiling, or under siding when the hose runs; when a washer swap did not stop the drip; when the faucet handle is seized and you cannot shut it; when there is no access to the back of the bib; or when a wet spot stays wet with the faucet closed. Faucet repair covers outdoor bibs the same as kitchen and bath faucets, and the same visit can add a frost-free bib and an interior shutoff so the next freeze costs you nothing.
The visit to find the problem is free, with no trip charge or diagnostic fee. Faucet repair is priced on site with a flat written price before any work starts, and the $30 repair coupon applies. Licensed master plumbers (MPL 41319) answer 24/7 at (713) 409-7176, which matters when a split bib is pouring into a wall on a Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my outdoor faucet leak only when the hose is connected and running?
That pattern almost always means the faucet split inside the wall during a freeze. A frost-free hose bib shuts off a foot or more inside the house, so the pipe behind the handle only carries pressure while the faucet is open. When you turn it on, water pours out of the crack behind the siding instead of the spout. Shut the faucet off, leave the hose disconnected, and have the bib replaced before the wall cavity gets wetter.
How do I fix an outdoor faucet that drips from the spout when it is off?
A spout drip with the handle closed is a worn rubber washer or a damaged valve seat. Shut off the house water main, unscrew the packing nut, pull the stem, and replace the washer on its end with a matching size. If a new washer still drips, the brass seat is pitted and the faucet should be replaced. On a frost-free bib the stem is long, so pull it straight out carefully.
Do I really need to disconnect hoses before a freeze in Houston?
Yes. A connected hose traps water in the faucet body and the pipe behind it, so even a frost-free bib cannot drain and will split when that water freezes. Disconnect every hose, let the faucet drip for a minute to drain, and put on an insulated cover. The 2021 and 2024 freezes split thousands of Houston hose bibs that were frost-free but still had a hose attached.
What is the little cap on top of my outdoor faucet and why is it leaking?
That is a vacuum breaker, a small backflow device that keeps hose water from being pulled back into your drinking water if pressure drops. It leaks when its internal rubber parts wear or when the hose is turned off at the nozzle end and pressure backs up against it. Most have a replaceable cap and insert. It is required by code on hose connections, so do not remove it; replace the cap instead.
Can a leaking outdoor faucet raise my water bill?
A steady drip from the spout wastes a few hundred gallons a month, enough to notice on a bill. A split frost-free bib leaking inside the wall only runs while the faucet is on, but a broken pipe feeding the faucet runs around the clock and can add thousands of gallons. If the bill jumped and the yard or wall near a faucet stays wet, check the water meter with everything off to confirm a leak.
If your hose bib won’t hold, call Hugo.
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