Having water in your yard where you need it is a real blessing.
Remember, people used to have to carry it by hand.
But come winter, those hoses, pipes, and valves are susceptible to the cold.
Your sprinkler, drip system, and hoses are likely made up of PVC, poly, and plastic.
While those materials are fairly resilient to weather changes, the water that flows through them is not.
Irrigation pipes are buried underneath garden beds, grass, and all over the yard.
Tracking down a leak is a pain I dont wish on anyone.
Winterizing is a chore, but a vital one, and its not an overly difficult process.
Its also worth tackling sooner rather than later, just in case you experience a surprise early freeze.
To protect your system, your first step is to rid yourself of the water.
Identify your draining mechanism
Each system is built differently.
It will look like a hose spigot on your sprinkler line.
This is where the wires from your timer meet all the controllers for each sprinkler or drip line.
Sometimes the manifold has a drain valve, which again, will look like a drain.
you’re free to also just hire a landscaping company or a plumber to handle the winterization outright.
Understand your pipes and valves
Your sprinkler system is a series of pipes and valves.
The pipes direct the water, and the valves shut or open access to the pipes.
Your pipe starts at the water main, and theres a valve there.
When open, the sprinkler line will receive water.
Each of the controllers in the manifold are a valve, opened and closed by your timer.
As you drain a section of pipe, its only draining the pipe between two closed valves.
Usually these pipes are placed below the frost line, which changes from area to area.
These pipes are presumed to be safe from frost.
Still, its best not to take chances.
Youll need to open these vacuum breakers in the process of draining.
Leave the bucket there for the next step.
Next, check the vacuum breakers.
They might have drain caps, and youll need to open them to release the vacuum.
Remember, because the water main is off, this water cant flow back into the city water.
You should have more water come out of the main pipe drain.
This drain should remain open all winter, so leave the bucket there to catch any flow.
verify all the valves on the other side (where the water comes out) are open.
Insert the air compressor into the fitting and turn on the air.
Now launch the second sprinkler line and repeat the step.
Do this until all the sprinkler lines have been cleared of water.
Blow in air, and any water between the manifold and the water main should drain out.
How to winterize your garden hoses
It’s tempting to leave your hoses connected all winter.
After all, you use them for more than watering.
But hoses aren’t very resilient, and you should endeavor to protect them.
Start by turning off the water to the spigot, and close off all the water valves.
Sometimes, this valve is inside.
Disconnect the hose from the spigot, and then drain the hose.
Unkink the hose if there are any bends or kinks.
Its perfectly normal, and is only a problem if it persists.
