Your sprinkling system is essential to your lawn’s health, and it’s crucial that you keep it in excellent working condition at all times. One way to achieve this is to perform the winterization process. The process involves clearing the water from all the components to prevent it from freezing. These are some tips on how to winterize a sprinkler system.
Choose Whether To DIY or Call Professionals
The first step is to decide whether it will be more effective to do the process yourself or hire a professional. Pros and cons exist for both decisions. You can always spare yourself some cash by doing it yourself. However, you will have a work warranty and satisfaction about the process being done correctly if you hire a professional company to do it.
You’ll also alleviate the burden of doing extra work if you choose to let someone else handle it. Another great benefit you’ll get by hiring a professional is that it can protect your system from major damage. You risk doing something incorrectly any time you choose to DIY a project. Then there’s no protection for you if something goes wrong. Consider those factors before proceeding to ensure you make a beneficial choice.
Finding the perfect provider is a matter of researching and reading the company’s credentials, reviews, and website information. You should also contact each prospective company individually and have a consultation that covers the services and costs. You’ll receive a no-obligation quote that you can decide to honor or decline.
Find the Shut-Off Valve and Cut Off the Water
If you decide to winterize your sprinkler system yourself, the first step is cutting off the water supply. There should be a valve or drain somewhere in between the backflow device and the water supply. It may take you some moments to find it, but you can start your process when you do.
Check areas such as the crawlspace, basement, or underground valve box. Hiring a professional company will be wise if you don’t like getting into crawlspaces or underground locations. The reason is that what you need may be buried up to five feet.
Blow Out All the Zones
The next part of the process involves blowing out the irrigation system to remove all traces of water. You’ll need to blow out one section at a time. Don’t overwork the system by doing too much at a time. Slow down and work with single zones to avoid damaging any of the pipes.
Again, it might be wise to hire professionals to perform this job for you. According to professionals, the average cost of system winterization is between $75 and $100. When you think about the damage you could do with a DIY, you’ll realize that it’s well worth the small cost to ensure someone performs the project precisely.
Early fall is the best time to perform the maintenance for sprinkler system protection. Remember that experts are available to do the work for you if you do not feel comfortable with it.