Investing in an irrigation system can do amazing things for both your property’s curb appeal and its health. When you know that your lawn and plants are getting the right amount of water consistently, they can thrive and give you the beautiful and lush grass and gardens that make your home stand out. For the busy homeowner, it’s one less thing to think about, and that alone can be well worth the investment. However, if you fail to maintain your irrigation system, it can backfire. Cracked and broken pipes, clogged sprinkler heads, and malfunctioning sensors can do more than just not give your plants the right amount of water – they can cause flooding in your yard or beds that will cause serious damage. You need to maintain your system, and that means getting a professional for a proper shutdown in the fall.
Some homeowners believe that as long as they turn off their automatic timers or sensors, so they are not actively watering, their irrigation system is “off” for the winter, and nothing else needs to be done. That’s not a shutdown. A shutdown is a more involved process that involves flushing out all the water from the system so it’s “dry” for the winter before turning it off. The reason is straightforward and has to do with how water behaves when it freezes. Your irrigation system is designed to function effectively during the temperate seasons when your plants are growing. When temperatures are above freezing, water moves easily through the lines. Even if your system is off, water will still occupy the same amount of space in the lines when the temperatures are warm enough to prevent the water from freezing. Once temperatures are below freezing, any remaining water in the pipes, hoses, or nozzles will freeze and turn to ice. Frozen water in your irrigation system is incredibly damaging.
If you don’t do a thorough shutdown of your irrigation system, you’ll have frozen water sitting in the lines when the weather drops below freezing. Frozen water expands and takes up more space than liquid water does. When that ice needs a place to go, it will find a way by exerting pressure on the hose, pipe, valve, or sprinkler head, causing cracks in the lines. Because these cracks happen during a time when you aren’t using the system, you may not notice them, and once the temperatures thaw, all that thawed water from the cracked system will begin to leak into your soil. When you go to turn the water back on in the spring, you’ll notice low water pressure and high water bills at best, and a malfunctioning system that won’t operate and floods your lawn at worst. Instead of starting the new growing system on track, you’ll have expensive repairs, and may even need a replacement system.
A complete winterization is more than just turning the system off. Several steps ensure that your irrigation system is ready for winter.
A shutdown isn’t necessarily a complicated process, but several steps require knowledge of the system’s inner workings.
Can you? Maybe. Should you? Probably not. Google and YouTube attempt to teach us everything, giving the impression that a homeowner can do just as well as a professional. While the internet is great and there is no harm in learning how your irrigation system works, some jobs are much better left to the professionals, and anything to do with water is one of them. If you make a mistake trimming or edging your lawn, it’s like a bad haircut you can fix easily. If you make a mistake with shutting down your irrigation system, you can be looking at water damage, expensive repairs, and even a system replacement. Professionals are professionals for a reason. They are well-trained in exactly how to work with your irrigation system, and they take responsibility for making sure that it’s treated exactly as it needs to be. A professional has the right tools to blow out the lines, understands how to check every component for damage, and can quickly identify any issues. Instead of investing a day in trying to become an irrigation expert, investing in the tools, and still taking the risk of causing damage, you can leave this job to the professionals.
Don’t risk the health and curb appeal of your property and the investment you made in your irrigation system by skipping an easy step. If you’ve invested in an irrigation system, you care about the health and appearance of your property, and that means you should treat your irrigation system with the same care. Don’t risk damage or flooding; make sure you hire the right team to properly shut down your irrigation system before winter. Protect your irrigation system this winter. Call Twin Oaks Landscape today to schedule a proper shutdown and prevent costly damage in the spring.