How to Keep a Garden Hose from Freezing When You Need Water All Winter

Two situations, two methods

Hose freeze protection comes down to one question: does water have to stay in the hose between uses?

Water freezes at 32 °F, and a hose lying in open air has nothing that slows it for long. The details behind that number are on the question page about what temperature a water hose freezes at. This page is for house and yard; for a camper on a site, see how to keep an RV water hose from freezing.

Method 1: use it, drain it, take it off

You need: a place out of the frost to store the hose.

1. Use the hose, then shut the spigot

   Do the watering or filling, then close the spigot fully so that no water follows into the hose.

2. Open the nozzle and unscrew the hose

   Open the nozzle to release the pressure, then unscrew the hose from the faucet. The Portland Water Bureau lists it as the first step before a freeze: “Disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets.”

3. Drain the hose end to end

   Lift one end and walk toward the other so the water runs out. Flexzilla recommends exactly this routine after each use of its hose.

4. Take off nozzles and attachments

   Spray nozzles, splitters and timers hold water, and nothing protects them. Store them with the hose.

5. Store the hose out of the frost

   A garage, a shed or a basement will do. Flexzilla: “Always drain and store your hose before temperatures drop below freezing to prevent damage.”

6. Protect the spigot

   If the house has a separate shut-off valve for the outdoor faucet, close it and open the spigot so the pipe drains. Then cover the faucet.

The last step is the one that protects the house rather than the hose. University of Illinois Extension advises to disconnect garden hoses and to shut off and drain the pipes leading to outside faucets, which lowers the risk of a freeze in the short span of pipe just inside the house. For a drained wall spigot, a padded cover such as the nabreeli faucet covers^* (paid link) is the usual finish; it measures 5.9 in by 8.5 in according to the seller and only slows the cooling. What to do with a spigot that must stay live is covered under frozen spigot.

A hose that stays pliable in the cold makes this routine easier, because a stiff hose is hard to drain and coil. The Flexzilla hose^* (paid link) is described by its maker as flexible down to −40 °F. It is still an unheated hose and has to be emptied; the page on the freeze-proof hose explains the difference.

If the hose is not needed again until spring, the seasonal put-away is described under garden hose in winter. A hose that was left on and is now iced onto the faucet is the subject of hose frozen to the spigot.

Method 2: a heated hose for water that stays connected

If the hose has to stay full and connected, heat is the only thing that keeps it open. A heated water hose is a water hose with an electric heating element running along its length that keeps the water inside from freezing when the hose is plugged into a 120-volt outlet, with the heat switched by a thermostat or limited by a self-regulating cable.

The rules for running it come from the two manuals we could read, PIRIT's and Miller Manufacturing's:

• Outlet: GFCI-protected and within reach of the hose's own cord. PIRIT: “Do not use extension cords.” Miller: “no extension cords.”
• Laid out, never coiled. PIRIT warns that a plugged-in, coiled hose can overheat and melt.
• Thermostat in outside air. PIRIT requires it to be exposed to ambient temperature, not in a heated environment. Do not pull that end into a heated greenhouse or through a basement window.
• Out of the wind where possible. Miller: “Position hose out of direct wind.”
• Water in it while plugged in. Miller: “Do not leave plugged in without water.”

The hose heats itself and nothing else. The spigot stays cold and needs its own protection. Lengths from 25 to 100 ft and the outlet question are worked through on the page about the heated garden hose, which is the place to choose a model. How a pick is made without trials of our own is described under how we compare.

What does not work

• Insulation as the whole plan. A foam sleeve contains no heat source. It delays freezing by a time no maker states.
• Pipe heat tape around the hose. Frost King: “never install the Heat Cable Kits on any type of hoses.”
• Leaving the hose on the spigot “just for tonight.” The faucet cannot drain while a full hose hangs on it.
• Counting on a trickle. Utilities advise a slight drip for house pipes. For a hose in open air we found no source that vouches for it.
• Bending a hose that has frozen anyway. Thaw it first; the steps are under frozen water hose.

The heated water hose overview explains the product type and the choice of length.