As summer slips into fall and rushes headlong into winter, those of us in the country’s frostier regions begin the annual process of battening down the hatches for a home invasion of low temperatures and icy conditions. Among the many preparations important to the Aurora, Watkins, Centennial, or Denver, CO resident is the yearly sprinkler blowout: an easily overlooked but vital process that ensures our irrigation systems remain functional and reliable during the remaining seasons of the calendar.
Winterize Your Sprinkler System
Simply keeping your sprinklers off during the colder months isn’t enough to prevent the kind of damage that comes from an inevitable freeze-and-thaw cycle. Water will remain pooled inside the pipes unless forced out, and this water will freeze and expand as the thermometer dips. The result? Cracked and leaky piping. This is a risk even if you’re using the more reliable alternative to the standard PVC: polyethylene pipes, while more flexible and capable of expanding, are still subject to ruptures without your yearly sprinkler blowout.
Sprinkler blowouts are accomplished by using compressed air to force any leftover water out of the ducts. It’s a process that you can handle yourself if you have the right equipment, but a tricky — and potentially dangerous — one besides. Too much pressure or too long of an application of air can damage your system just as surely as the cold can, and air must be pumped into particular sections in a particular order to ensure that each part of your yard is neither overlooked nor overtaxed.
Irrigation Winterization
Because every sprinkler system is unique to one’s home layout and use, the list of elements to be checked, cleaned, removed, opened, and closed will vary from one individual to another. Don’t risk overlooking or mishandling some vital component! Hawkins Brothers Lawn and Sprinkler, Inc. can guarantee a safe and thorough sprinkler blowout, leaving your irrigation safely dormant and ready for an efficient reawakening come spring. For any work on your sprinkler systems, landscaping project, or sod installation plans, come to us!