And no, we’re not talking about giving your irrigation system and fancy new hairdo
Before winter arrives, you should plan to blow out the sprinkler system. That might sound like a fun celebration before it gets to take a long rest after working so hard during the summer, but it’s actually an important annual yard maintenance task to ensure your in-ground sprinklers aren’t holding onto any excess water that can freeze and cause the pipes to leak or burst. But who should you call to blow out sprinklers when the time comes?
Whether you decide to DIY the task or call in a pro, here’s what you need to know about winterizing your lawn sprinkler system so that it’s in good working order for next season.
The benefits of hiring a local sprinkler repair company to blow out sprinklers are the same for hiring a pro to tackle just about any other exterior home improvement job:
It will get done correctly: Unless your DIY skills are truly up to the task, you could damage your sprinkler system. In your attempt to save money, you’ll wind up having to spend much more to get the sprinklers fixed or replaced than you would have if you hired a pro to do the work in the first place.
You’ll save time: Lawn sprinkler pros have done this task so many times that it’s become routine for them. You can learn how to do it, but it will probably take much longer to finish. It’s better to delegate this task so that you have more time to do other things—and yes, that includes relaxing.
It’ll be easier to schedule than other tasks: If you’re hiring a pro to do work inside your home, it’s understandable that you might be putting off making the call. After all, you’ve likely got a hectic enough schedule without having to work around a contractor’s timeline. But when it comes time to blow out your sprinklers, the work is all done outside. And since you don’t have to let anyone into your home, you don’t even have to be home for this task.
There are several ways to remove the excess water from a lawn sprinkler system, but blowing it out with compressed air is one of the more effective ways of doing it. That said, you’ll have to take extra care with the volume and pressure of the air compressor. Otherwise, it’s bad news for those pipes in the ground.
If any of this sounds tricky or even scary, it’s better to call in a pro to blow out the sprinkler.
A handyperson can indeed be a handy hire for many jobs in and around the house. But only a handyperson who is experienced in yard and lawn maintenance should take on your sprinkler system for this annual task.
A reputable handyperson will be transparent with their skillset, so it’s worth asking them if they’re able to blow out your sprinklers. If they say no, they might be able to recommend another handyperson or a local sprinkler repair company that can do it.
If you hire a pro to winterize your sprinkler system using compressed air, the process will look something like this:
Close and drain the water line: The mission here is to remove all water from the sprinkler system, so it makes sense that they’d want to stop more water from entering it. First, they use the isolation valve to stop the water from coming through the hose bib on the outside—that’s the small faucet or spigot on the outside of the house. Then, they’ll stick a bucket underneath the hose bib and open it to drain out any remaining water.
Shut off the timer or switch the sprinkler to rain mode: Either works to ensure there will be nothing trying to turn your sprinkler on in the off-season.
Attach the air compressor: They’ll attach an air compressor with a blow-out adapter to the sprinkler system. The trick here is for your pro to ensure that the air pressure is no higher than 80 PSI (pounds per square inch) for rigid PVC pipes, but they’ll keep it to a max of 50 PSI if the pipes are made from polyethylene, which is flexible. The air volume should be between 30 and 50 cubic feet per minute (CFM). Anything outside of these parameters could crack the pipes—which is why it pays to go with a pro for this task.
Turn on the air and open/close individual sprinkler zones: They’ll open up one of the sprinkler zones so that the water has an exit path and turn on the air compressor slowly, adjusting as necessary. As the air blows through the system, water will come out through the sprinkler head. When it stops, they’ll close up that head and move on to the next zone until no more water is coming out of the sprinkler system. They will repeat the process for each sprinkler zone to ensure that all water is removed before detaching the air compressor.
Of course, yours is not the only home in the area with sprinklers. Call your local sprinkler repair company as early as possible to schedule an appointment so that your sprinklers aren’t faced with the winter freeze.
