leaking at the hose bib?

Several years ago, I purchased a new water hose with brass connectors. I was quite disappointed when I connected it to my hose bib in the backyard and it sprayed and leaked all over the place when I turned on the water. I just thought something was wrong with it. I had an old hose and it too leaked when I hooked it up. I figured it was just old. 

I have a third water hose which I use almost all of the time. At this point I should explain that the water hose always gets disconnected, drained, rolled up and put away after each use. This third one that I use almost exclusively is lighter than the others and probably the shortest of them all. It is my go-to hose since it was easier to handle.

I finally was convinced that something was amiss when I hooked up my go-to hose to the backyard hose bib and it too leaked and sprayed at the connection. I didn't have any such problems when hooked up to the front yard hose bibs. As you may have guessed, I don't use the backyard hose bib very often. One winter I did see water dripping from that hose bib. Apparently if it isn't turned off quite tight, it will drip. I don't make that mistake any more.

Putting two and two together, I figured out what was causing the leak. As water dripped from the hose bib at various times over the years, it left a mineral deposit. Over time the build-up is sufficient to cause the threads to not seal correctly. This is particularly obvious in that it was difficult to thread the hose connection onto the hose bib. It would feel rough and wouldn't thread on smoothly. The build up of mineral deposit can be seen upon visual inspection.

I used a brush and a bathroom cleaner intended to remove hard water deposits and scrubbed the hose bib threads. It took a few minutes and quite a bit of brushing to clear off the deposit. Afterwards, it was easy to thread on the hose and best of all, the connection no longer leaked. Easy fix. It only took me a few years to figure it out. :)

Happy hosing to every one.