It’s that time of year again. Back to school aisles are beginning to fill up with students and parents and empty of school supplies. In a few weeks the days will be getting a little shorter and the leaves will turn the Delmarva peninsula into a wealth of gorgeous fall colors. We’ve still got about a month left of summer fun so don’t despair just yet. It is time to start thinking about winterizing your lawn and irrigation system, though. Preparing your sprinkler system for the cooler months will help extend its life and keep it running like it’s supposed to.
Tips for Preparing Your Sprinkler System for Fall
- Make sure that the water is off. You’ll need to do this before you start doing anything else with winterization. Turning the main valve off will ensure that you can get all of the water out of the pipes and that it won’t freeze and expand in your pipes, which could cause them to burst. Do this the last time you water your lawn this summer.
- Remember to turn your controller off. It’s easy to forget this step since you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about your controller during the summer months. Once it’s on and programmed, you don’t have to do much with it other than occasionally turning it to rain mode. During the winter months, you can either turn the power off, change it to rain mode, or simply turn it off. It all depends on the system that you have installed.
- Remove your backflow preventer. Not everyone knows that they have backflow preventers, since it’s not something that you frequently see. The way to remove the backflow preventer depends on how it’s installed and the type of system you have – either read an instruction manual or call experts for help with this one.
- Drain the pipes. This is obviously the most important step. You don’t want the water freezing in your irrigation pipes or in your sprinkler heads, for that matter. The problem with draining your pipes is that it takes more than just turning the sprinklers on and trying to get all of the water out that way. You’ll need to perform what’s called a “water blow out,” which requires air pressure, skill, and some know how.
Professional Irrigation Winterization
The best way to avoid causing more problems than your solving when winterizing your irrigation system is to call the professionals. It can be a difficult job to perform on your own, especially if you’ve never done it before. To talk to someone about irrigation system winterization, in Baltimore, Maryland or the surrounding areas, call Aqua-Bright today at 410-489-9009 or take a tour through our website.
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Source: Sprinkler Warehouse