At Laurdane Associates, we want to help you take the best possible care of your home, including your yard. If you use a sprinkler system to keep your lawn and landscaping looking their best, you’ll need to make sure that it is properly prepared for the winter months in a process known as sprinkler winterization. We have a great deal of experience in this area, and we have seen our fair share of mistakes. In this article, we’ll go over some of the most common of these mistakes and share advice on how to avoid them.
- Not Closing Valves Correctly- The first step in the sprinkler winterization process is to shut off the water supply–failing to do so correctly will likely flood your lawn. To do this, shut off the mainline that supplies all of your home’s water, and we also recommend shutting off the valve that feeds your sprinklers specifically as an extra precaution.
- Using the Wrong Air Pressure- One method of sprinkler winterization uses a compressor to blow air through the irrigation lines and force the water out. If you use this method, make sure that you don’t use too much air pressure, as doing so can damage the lines. To find the optimal air pressure for your system, find the gallon-per-minute (GPM) of each sprinkler head, then divide the total GPM of each zone by 7.5.
- Starting Too Late- The third most common mistake when it comes to sprinkler winterization is waiting too long to begin the process. In order to make sure that your system is prepared for the colder months, you should winterize your system well ahead of the first frost–if your system freezes with water still inside, the expanding ice can do significant damage to your lines.