Don’t let winter catch you by surprise. Hire a professional for a sprinkler blowout before the first hard freeze and save yourself a lot of money and headache in the spring.
In areas where the ground doesn’t freeze, you don’t have to worry about a sprinkler blow out, but annual winterization is an important step in Loveland. Without it, as water inside your sprinkler pipes freezes, it will expand and have no place to go. This can result in burst pipes underground or broken valves. Either is a much more expensive repair than the cost of a blow out.
Depending on the weather, we typically recommend your sprinklers be winterized somewhere between mid-October and November. Because our autumn temperatures can vary so much, some years we have blown systems out in September while other years we have not needed to until after Thanksgiving.
Depending on your landscape and irrigation systems, the winterization process can take a number of steps. Even before you undertake a system blowout, it is a good idea to insulate any exposed faucets and vacuum breaker in the fall, before winterization in case of an early freeze. There are potential dangers during this process, both to your system and to you due to the high pressure air used. Therefore we recommend that a professional take care of this maintenance item for you.
Your sprinkler system must be drained of water. This can be done manually if there are manual valves at the ends and low points in the sprinkler piping. There will still be water between the shut off valve and the backflow device. Backflow devices are required in Loveland, and are designed to keep the water from your yard from entering your household water, keeping it safe to drink.
Some sprinkler systems will have automatic drain valves rather than manual ones. These should be checked and tested to be sure they still function properly. Even with these “automatic” drain valves, there is still a winterizing procedure that must be followed so your system does not freeze and get damaged.
As a professional lawn sprinkler system contractor, we can assure that your backflow device is working properly and that any sprinkler blowouts previously done have not damaged the system. Be sure to call us to schedule your inspection and blow out BEFORE the freeze hits.