What is actually wrong with your outdoor faucet.
Most outdoor faucet repair comes down to a worn part you can name. Water at the handle means a tired packing nut or stem seal. Water from the spout when the valve is closed means a hardened washer or a scored seat. Water spitting out of the little cap on top means the vacuum breaker is venting.
A hose bib is simply a hose-thread faucet bolted to a pipe that runs through your exterior wall. Fixing the visible part takes minutes. The harder question is whether water is also escaping inside the wall, and that is where a quick repair can turn into a real one.
Start with where the water shows up.
Look before you touch a wrench. The location of the drip narrows the cause faster than any guess.
Water behind or under the handle.
The stem is sealed by packing, either a graphite wrap under a nut or a rubber O-ring. When it dries out, water creeps up the stem every time you open the valve. A quarter turn on the packing nut sometimes ends it. If it keeps weeping, the packing needs replacing.
Water from the spout with the valve off.
Inside a compression bib, a rubber washer presses against a brass seat. Years of mineral scale and UV heat harden that washer until it no longer seals. Claremont's hard water speeds up scale on seats, which is why a washer that looked fine at installation can be pitted a few seasons later.
Water spraying from the top or side cap.
That is the anti-siphon vacuum breaker doing its job badly. It is a spring-loaded cap that stops dirty hose water from flowing backward into your drinking supply. When the internal poppet sticks or cracks, it sprays when the valve is on. Replacement breakers thread on by hand or with a small wrench.
Water inside the wall or on the floor of a closet.
This is the one that matters. A cracked pipe behind a bib shows up as a damp baseboard, a stained garage wall or a musty smell indoors. Stop using the spigot and read the leak section below.
Freeze-proof spigot versus standard hose bib.
Many homes have both styles, often one on each side of the house. They fail differently, so the table below helps you sort yours.
| Feature. | Standard hose bib. | Freeze-proof spigot. |
|---|---|---|
| Valve location. | Right at the outside wall. | Several inches inside the wall. |
| Long body. | No. | Yes, 4 to 14 inches long. |
| Typical failure. | Packing leak or washer wear. | Stem seal or hose left attached. |
| Where leaks hide. | Mostly visible outside. | Often inside the wall cavity. |
| Repair approach. | Repack, new washer or replace. | Swap the stem or whole unit. |
| Best for. | Mild climates. | Homes that see occasional freezes. |
A freeze-proof spigot puts the shutoff deep in the warm part of the wall so the visible spout holds no water. That design is clever, but it also means a failed seal drips inside the wall, not onto the patio. If the spout runs for a long while after you close the handle, suspect the stem seal or a hose that was left attached and kept the barrel full.
What you can reasonably do yourself.
Some jobs are genuinely friendly. A homeowner with an adjustable wrench and ten minutes can do the following.
- Close the supply to that line. Use the interior shutoff if there is one, or the main shutoff, then open the spigot to drain the pipe..
- Tighten the packing nut a quarter turn and test..
- If water persists, remove the handle, unscrew the packing nut and replace the packing or O-ring with the matching part..
- Swap a failed vacuum breaker by unscrewing it and threading on a new one of the same thread size..
- Wrap fresh thread tape clockwise on the male threads of any hose fitting that weeps at the connection..
Stop there. Do not heat a stuck copper bib with a torch, and do not force a corroded body that turns with the pipe behind it. Twisting a bib that is soldered or threaded to old pipe can crack the line inside the wall.
When a quick repair is the wrong call.
Bring in a plumber when the bib body itself is cracked, when the shutoff will not close all the way, or when the faucet moves in the wall as you turn it. Those are signs the pipe connection has loosened. The same goes for any bib you cannot isolate because the supply valve is missing or frozen in place.
A faucet repair visit for an outdoor spigot usually means shutting down that branch, removing the old unit, cleaning the thread or sweat joint, and installing a new bib, often a freeze-proof model with a built-in vacuum breaker. Then the plumber pressure-tests the line while the cap is still open to watch for seepage.
How to tell if the leak is in the wall.
A damp patch indoors is the obvious clue. The quieter clues are a water bill that climbs with no change in habits, a faint hissing near the exterior wall, or a spigot that drips even after fresh parts go in.
You can run a basic check yourself. Turn off every fixture inside and out, then look at your water meter. If the dial or low-flow indicator keeps moving, water is leaking somewhere on the property. Close the shutoff to the bib and check again. If the meter now holds still, the spigot line was your leak.
When the meter keeps moving after the bib is isolated, the loss is elsewhere. A technician doing leak detection can use acoustic listening gear and moisture meters to trace pipe in the wall without opening everything up. That is far cheaper than guessing with a hammer.
Spigot spraying right now?.
Close the supply valve if you can reach it and call the dispatcher for a same-day plumber when available.
Seasonal habits that save spigots.
Hoses left connected hold water against the seat and the vacuum breaker, and in a cold snap they can split a freeze-proof barrel. Disconnect hoses when you are done, especially when a freeze is forecast. Cover or insulate the spigot when the forecast calls for it.
What affects the repair price.
No honest quote comes from a photo alone, but these factors are what move the number.
- Bib type: a standard bib is faster to swap than a long freeze-proof model..
- Access: a bib on a block wall, behind shrubs or over a finished room costs more labor..
- Pipe material: copper, galvanized and PEX need different connections..
- Shutoff availability: no local valve means draining a larger section of the house..
- Hidden damage: wall repair or drywall patching is separate from the plumbing..
Local note for Claremont homeowners.
Local note
What Claremont's water system means for a leaking spigot.
Golden State Water Company serves Claremont through its Claremont Water System, and its own customer FAQ says the utility maintains the line only up to the water meter. Anything past the meter, including every hose bib and the pipe feeding it, belongs to the property owner.
The same Golden State Water Company FAQ gives a simple test: turn off all water inside and outside, then watch the meter needle. If it keeps moving, there is probably a leak on the property. The utility also lists irrigation problems and leaks as the two most common causes of a high bill. Its 2026 Annual Water Quality Report shows hardness averaging 190 mg/L, about 11 grains per gallon, so expect some mineral buildup around older spigot seats.
Code reference.
Backflow protection on hose bibs, such as vacuum breakers, is part of the California Plumbing Code, built on the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC). For anything beyond a washer or packing swap, check the plumber's license with the Contractors State License Board.
Outdoor faucet questions.
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Often yes, if the shutoff works and the pipe is accessible. Turn off the supply, drain the line, unscrew the old bib or cut and re-solder it, and install the new one with matching thread type. If the pipe is corroded, soldered in a tight spot or the valve will not close, call a plumber.
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Water pressure sits against the hose washer and the vacuum breaker the whole time, so a marginal seal shows up. Replace the cheap rubber hose washer first. If the drip continues, the breaker or the bib washer is worn and needs replacing, which is a short repair.
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Most modern hose bibs include one, because it prevents dirty water in a hose or sprinkler from being pulled back into the home supply. If yours does not have one, ask a plumber about a screw-on backflow cap or a replacement bib with it built in.
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Shut off every fixture inside and outside, then watch the meter. Golden State Water Company says that if the needle keeps moving, there is likely a leak on the property. Close the spigot's supply and check again to see if that line is the source.