Hi there,

Our house is about 5 years old and this winter time the outside water faucet just stopped working. We live close in Seattle so its not too cold here. All other faucets are working just fine. I tried to nudge the inside of the faucet with a screwdriver and I felt a rubbery thing inside and the water flows out whenever I nudge this rubber thing. How do I fix this problem? Noob here.

Any help would be appreciated.

Paulo

 

WA and it's not cold, Hmm.
Picture of what you have now would be nice.
If it's not a freeze proof faucet, or the hose was left attached I'd think it was froze up.

 

A picture of your spigot would help a lot. When you turn the knob does it feel like it's connected to anything or does it just spin freely?

 

Thank you all for your response. Yes when I spin the knob it feels connected to something and I did left the hose this winter time. Here is the image for the spigot. Do you know why water is coming out when I push the screwdriver inside the spigot?

 

Atmospheric pressure and surface tension were holding water in the faucet. Poking the screwdriver into the faucet released the surface tension and allowed the water to come out. There could have also been some partially melted ice in the faucet since you said you left the hose connected this winter.

 

You have a screw on vacuum breaker on that hose bib... Its probably shot and needs replacement... Try that and let us know... ( Probably got damaged from leaving the hose on in freezing conditions....)

 

Since you left a hose attached in winter and you do get below freezing you'll need to check for leaks underneath the house when you open the spigot. They generally won't leak outside where you can see but inside the wall or floor cavity. It's easy to ignore because it doesn't immediately affect you but it can cause rot in the wall & floor which can be a major expense.

 

Record lows for Seattle were in the low teens.

 

Where did you find those records?

Official Seattle temperatures USED to be taken from the Federal building in downtown Seattle. This was maybe a 1/4 mile, probably less, from Elliot Bay which has a huge moderating effect upon the downtown area. Result was the "official" temperature was almost always significantly warmer than many places inside the city limits. There are/were also the many buildings in the downtown area that would radiate heat to moderate the air temperature.

Now the official temperatures are take at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the airport is some ten miles from downtown Seattle. This gives a somewhat better average of the temperatures inside the city limits but the outlying areas, still within about a ten mile radius can often be a good ten degrees or more below the "official" temperature.

When I still lived in Seattle, up until the summer of 1977, I often saw the temperature at the places I was living at least five degrees and sometimes even more, LOWER than the "official" temperature. I've mentioned before about the winter of '68-'69 when I worked in the boat shop and the temperature dropped to five degrees for several days in a row. Now that I live some ten miles from Seattle I almost always experience temperatures colder than the "official" Seattle temperature, usually by at least five degrees.

So, take it with a grain of rock salt when you read that Seattle has never gone below the low teens regarding temperature. I've lived it, I know.

 

The Weather.com monthly record lows for Seattle:

https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USWA0395:1:US

Check the box for record lows to get record lows on the graph.