As winter moves into Texas, many of us tend to forget about keeping up with our summer irrigation and landscaping systems. After all, who is worried about having a green lawn in November? Since most of us have embraced the brown crunchiness of the fall and winter season, lush green lawns are no longer on our minds, and we sometimes neglect to winterize our landscaping systems. Because of this, we might be surprised to find that our sprinkler systems need to be repaired when spring rolls around next year. Thus, you might be wondering: what causes a sprinkler to need repairs? We’ve compiled two typical reasons irrigation systems often need repairs and how to avoid these problems:

Lack of Insulation 

Just as you want to ensure your home’s pipes are insulated when freezing weather hits, you need to insulate the pipes and valves that supply water to your irrigation system. If these pipes are not insulated, the condensation in them may expand and burst the pipes when the temperature dips below freezing. There are two main areas to be aware of when insulating: the primary shut off valve and any pipes (such as backflow preventers) that are located above the ground. To insulate these areas, you should wrap the valves or pipes with any kind of insulator material such as foam insulation tape and a plastic bag or foam insulating tubes.

Excess Water 

Excess water in your sprinkler pipes can lead to damage because the water left in the pipes can freeze and expand, which might cause cracks in the pipes, or even cause the pipes to burst. Thus, in addition to making sure that your sprinklers are protected from freezing temperatures with insulation, you should also drain all the excess water from the system. To begin draining the excess water, you should first shut off the water supply to the sprinkler system. Then, you have a few choices for draining the water from the pipes. These choices will depend on the design of your sprinkler system. Thus, the next step to draining the water will be determining how your system is designed. You can check the instructions that came with the equipment or contact Petty’s Irrigation to determine the drainage system. Then, you will use one of three common methods for draining water: a manual drain valve, an automatic drain valve. or a compressed air blow-out. The third option, which uses compressed air to drive water from the lines, is sometimes a bit more technical and can be dangerous, so it is often best left to professionals, such as the experts at Petty’s, who are equipped to help you drain and winterize your irrigation system.

At Petty’s Irrigation, Landscape and Pest Control, we’ve been helping East Texans with their yards since the 1950s. We’ve seen a few winters since then, so we are ready to help you by preparing your irrigation system to minimize the effects of winter weather. Contact us at 800-258-9184 or info@pettys.com to find out how we can help you.