The turn-on "handle" of an outdoor hose bibb can't be moved to turn it on (counterclockwise), after five months of non-use during the winter.

It may be that I'm just not strong enough, given that I'm a 90-year-old small-sized woman. I have tried gently knocking the faucet with a hammer, to no avail. I'm afraid to knock it any harder because even with just gentle knocking, the hose bibb moves. It's somewhat unstable because of how it's connected to a valve that used to serve an underground system leading to lawn sprinklers.

Any suggestions?

This is essential for getting my lawn watered automatically.



Edited 1 times.

Is the handle like this? If yes, do you have a piece of pipe you could slip over one of the arms, to give you a little leverage?

Thanks, Steve. That's a good idea to get more leverage.

However, I'm afraid that might do some damage, because of the instability of the hose bibb due to the way it's connected to the remote-control valve.

Also, when I first posted I thought the hose bibb was stuck at "off", but on second thought it may be stuck at "on". In either case, I suppose Liquid Wrench or WD-40 might help, or is there something better?

I could just turn the remote-control valve on, on the chance that the hose bibb is stuck at "on". But I'm wondering if the remote-control valve could be damaged if the hose bibb is stuck at "off".