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Outdoor tap dripping or leaking at the wall

An outdoor faucet leaking where the hose joins usually needs a new washer and pipe tape.¹ A drip from the spout or handle means worn parts inside the tap. Water showing up indoors or in the wall needs a plumber.

Stand at the tap with the hose on and the water running, then again with the water off.

Updated November 4, 2026, Midlands House Walk

Worn brass outdoor tap on a brick wall with one drop falling and a dark wet stain beneath it — A drop at the spout with the handle closed. The wet stain on the brick says it’s been at this a while. AI-generated picture.

Brass tap on brick with a green hose coiled below on a bed of pine straw — A tap and hose on brick. Most leaks that spray instead of drip start right at that threaded joint. AI-generated picture.

Does it spray where the hose joins?

Look for: Turn the water on with the hose attached and watch the threads. A fine spray or steady dribble here is the connection, and the tap itself may be fine.
What it tells you: This is the easy one. EPA’s fix for a hose connection is a washer and pipe tape on the threads.¹ A small part, and no plumber needed.

Brass ball valve with a dark handle joining copper lines, pale wall behind it — Before anyone opens a tap, the water behind it has to stop. A valve like this one does that job.

How do you stop the water to work on it?

Look for: Look for a valve on the branch feeding that tap, often somewhere indoors or under the floor. No luck? Use your house shutoff.
What it tells you: If you can stop the water, you can get a washer or handle changed. If nothing closes it, that’s a separate problem to raise when the plumber comes.

Pipe rising from the ground to a tap at the wall of a house with a visible concrete slab edge and vinyl siding — On this slab house the pipe climbs the wall outside to reach the tap. Cold reaches a pipe like that easily. AI-generated picture.

Where does the pipe to the tap run?

Look for: Follow it with your eyes. Some taps come straight out of the wall, and others ride a bare pipe up from the ground, as on a slab house.
What it tells you: Pipe that’s exposed needs insulation. Clemson says insulated exposed pipes generally handle mild freezes down to 20°F.³ Buried 12 inches, it should never freeze in South Carolina.³

Water pipes in gray foam with taped joints running along floor joists in a crawlspace — Foam on the lines under a floor. The pipe feeding a tap can run through spots like this, where cold gets in. AI-generated picture.

Is water showing up somewhere other than the tap?

Look for: After a cold snap, run the tap while someone checks indoors, or look from the hatch. Watch for a wet wall, wet floor or drips below. Clemson notes bursts often go unnoticed until it warms above freezing.²
What it tells you: A tap that runs fine outside while water turns up inside points to a split pipe behind it. Close the main shutoff and get a plumber. It won’t fix itself.

Dripping from the spout or around the handle?

With the handle closed, a drip from the spout usually means a worn washer or seat inside. Water around the stem when the tap is running usually means worn packing. Both are small parts in a tap you can keep, unless the body is badly worn.

How much cold does a tap see here?

South Carolina winters seldom go below 20°F, with single digits now and then. Cold spells of two days or more can still freeze pipes under homes.³ Get ready with a freeze is coming.

Yours to do

Change the hose washer and tape the threads.¹
Insulate exposed hot and cold lines you can reach before winter.²
Run the meter leak test if you can’t tell whether a leak has stopped.

For a licensed pro

A split pipe behind the wall or under the floor.
Replacing the tap itself, especially where it’s soldered to the line.

Where this comes from

Keep walkingWater heater closet or garage: what to look at