You use your outdoor faucet for those messy jobs you don’t want to dirty up your indoor faucet with, but that doesn’t mean it should be neglected when it comes to plumbing maintenance. Black’s Hardware in Rochester, NY, has been in business since 1948, and they’ve always encouraged their customers to leave no stone unturned when dealing with plumbing problems and repairs. Homeowners tend to care more about their indoor plumbing fixtures than the outside ones, but your outdoor faucet could be causing problems that affect your entire property.

Here are three reasons why you need to care for your outside faucet:

• Basement Leaks: Whether your basement is finished or not, having water enter the walls and puddling on your floor is an immediate problem. Many times when this happens, the issue can be sourced back to your outside faucet. The most likely culprit is a frozen hose bib. If you left your hose bib connected during the winter, chances are it froze and ended up cracking the pipe from the faucet. 
• Inconsistent Water Pressure: When you neglect your outdoor faucet, you run the risk of debris becoming lodged in the opening and affecting the water pressure. Your faucet may have normal water pressure one day, but the next, the water simply trickles out. Meanwhile, the water pressure inside your home is fine. That kind of inconsistency will make your life more complicated and lead to more serious plumbing issues.
• Leaks: Leaks happen in outdoor faucets just as often as they do inside, but they are harder to notice. Most outside faucets are located in areas where unless you have a specific purpose to be there, you don’t notice them. This means that if your faucet is leaking, you may not notice it for several days or even weeks. All that wasted water will have a major impact on your utility bills.

Black’s Hardware is a two-time winner of the Rochester #1 Hardware Store award, and they’re dedicated to providing homeowners with everything they need to maintain their properties. You’ll find all the plumbing parts you need within their aisles. Call them at (585) 544-9896, or visit their website to learn more about their inventory.