Remove the Hose!
In addition to the steps outlined in Step 6 of this tutorial, there is one more that is guaranteed to save you major grief! That is the removal of any garden hoses you have attached to your hose bibbs (outside faucets).
Remove any hoses you have attached to your outdoor faucets and then go in the house andturn off the water to the outside faucet (also called a sill cock or hose bibb). It is critical to remove any hoses attached to the outside faucet! An attached garden hose is sure recipe for frozen pipe damage this winter.
The sill cock only turns water on and off outside, there is (or is supposed to be) a water shut off valve inside the house for the outside faucet. You may have to do some investigating in your home following water supply lines to try and find the shut off valve. They are usually located near the outside faucet.
By removing any hoses and turning off the water supply to the sill cock you have averted major risk of water damage done by a burst frozen pipe.
