How to Protect Your Sprinkler System This Winter

September 1, 2015

Your home’s sprinkler system is responsible for helping your lawn look its absolute best. During the cold winter months in Michigan, many sprinkler systems are put through a lot of harsh temperatures and weather before the springtime arrives. Once the spring arrives and you haven’t properly protected your home’s sprinklers, you might find that you have to replace pipes or the entire system altogether. There are several ways and methods for you to protect your sprinkler system this winter.

Helpful Tips on Protecting Your Home’s Sprinkler System
Protecting the sprinkler system is the first step in preventing any major problems from happening to it over time. If you do not properly protect the system before and during the winter, the pipes could freeze underground or in the system itself, causing the entire system to need major repairs once the
thaw comes along. Here are just some tips on how to protect your home’s sprinklers from freezing damage.

1. Make Sure the Timer is Off
The timer on the sprinkler system should be turned off before the winter hits your area. If the timer is never turned off, you will find that the sprinkler system tries to kick on and run water every single day, and this can cause a number of freezing problems within the pipes in no time at all.

2. Turn off the Water Valve to the System
It is not a good idea to consistently run the sprinklers throughout the winter. Keep in mind that your lawn is going to go into its dormant stage during the colder months of the year, so watering is either not required as often or at all to keep the lawn looking good. You are also going to want to avoid letting water run through the pipelines to the system because this can cause an underground freeze. Most sprinkler system pipes are dug a lot shallower than what you’d find for a home.

3. Drain Water from the Pipes
Even if you turn off the sprinkler system, water is still going to be found within the pipes. You should always drain and blow the pipes of any remaining water before the winter hits home. You can do this by blowing air through the line until there is no more water present.

Keeping your home’s sprinkler system running well all spring and summer long is essential to keeping a gorgeous lawn. Unfortunately, many homeowners do not know how to properly protect their home system before wintertime hits, and so the entire system freezes and then thaws, creating massive underground pipe bursts and issues with the sprinklers themselves. When you protect and prepare the system for the upcoming winter, you’re doing something that is seriously going to benefit you for the entire year. It is important that you prepare for this winter task well before the freeze hits your area, since you want the lines to be cleared of water before they can actually freeze.

Keep your lawn looking beautiful with maintenance services from Twin Oaks Landscape.

Find us online at https://www.twinoakslandscape.biz/, visit us in Ann Arbor, MI at 4100 South Maple Road, or call us at (734) 213-6911.