Winterization / Blowout

No one enjoys having to pay for unnecessary repairs around the home. Not having the right winterization in place for your sprinklers could mean that come spring, sprinkler system repair will be necessary. If the water isn’t expelled from the system before it's getting cold, the water within will freeze. This will break pipes, backflow prevention assemblies, valves, fittings, pumps, sprinkler heads and other components. Enough pressure to weakened items and guess what? You’re repairing your sprinkler system or, worse, replacing the more expensive parts related to your sprinkler system.

 

Plenty of homeowners are tempted to do this process on their own. However, to truly be effective, a professional with a thorough understanding of the system, using the right equipment, will always be your best bet to ensure the Spring startup goes smoothly and inexpensively.

 

What to Look For When Scheduling Your Winterization

 

When speaking to the company ask "do you need to come into the house". If they say "no" I would ask them to have a nice day and continue to call another company. They are not doing a complete blowout or are expecting you to do one of the most important procedures of the winterization.

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It is a common practice that some individuals or companies operate your valves from the outside irrigation box. They open the valves manually, if the valves are less than 5 years old this may not cause damage to your system.  Older valves may open fine, but sometimes the valve may not close. In the spring, when time to startup the system, this is the cause of a stuck "open" zone. This leads to an unnecessary repair appointment, some individuals or companies may look at this as "job security".