fix
 

many neighbors buy dollar store swimming noodles and slide a six inch or so piece onto the hose and connector area to avoid being sprayed

Water sprays out all the time on mine is anything missing that ai need?

Amazon
 

Amazon sells " The Original Hose Bibb Cover for Anti-Siphon Vacuum Breaker and Leaky Hoses" looks like it will fix and still stay within code. I'm going to try a piece of bike innertube as a sleeve attached only on to to direct water down

[QUOTE=azcindy;2448182]Another newbie question - I attached a hose to the outdoor hose bib and when I turned off the water, I got soaked with water squirting out of the vacuum breaker. I have never had one of these before. Is it supposed to squirt water like that when turning off the hose? Or is the vacuum breaker bad (i.e. should the excess water drip out instead of squirt out)? The end of my hose has a sprayer attached which I assume caused the pressure.

Thanks,

Cindy
Your post made me smile. I recall my first Villages hose soaking! Others will share how to address this, but I just want to say, “welcome to TV!”

Get a replacement at Home Depot
There are videos online on how to replace

All of these workarounds are crazy. Just remove them. If and when you move, they cost less than $5 each to replace before the sale.

Mine are sitting in my toolbox - I can put them pack on at any time.

Easy Fix
 

This is a easy fix. There is a small little shield that just clips on with no tools right over the Spicket it forces all the water straight down to the ground so it don’t spray all over the place. They sell them on Amazon for just a few dollars I have one and it works great.

The back flow preventers don’t last more than a few years. Buy a new one from Ace or Amazon.

Still Alive
 

Wonder how we all stayed alive after all these years without this device.

I guess if you have your hose connected to a lawn feeding hose device and if you lose water pressure and if you left the hose valve on then you would need it.

I'll take my chances and not get sprayed every time I turn my hose off.

Easy peasy !

I have the same issue. Thanks for asking.

What is “a few?” Mine is still working at 11. Besides, what the OP describes is a properly functioning device. Replacing theirs will only cost time, money, and frustration to get back to exactly the same place.

Water should not spray out all the time. There is a piece of rubber inside the unit that should cover the holes in normal operation. If water is spraying then the rubber might be cracked or there may be sediment keeping it from closing properly.

On mine there is a little rubber tab in the opening that I could push and twist a little. I did this and it seemed to make the rubber seat better and stopped the water spraying all the time.

If that doesn’t work then it’s time to replace it.

Amazon has a shield for under $10. I am fortunate that mine is only a foot from the corner of the house. I reach over from the other side.:a20:

Backflow valve
 

I put a kitchen towel around it and made a simple knot. Now only the towel gets wet.