Tips For Winterizing Your Irrigation System

Fall is here in Southwestern Ontario, and that means the cold winter weather isn't far behind. For many homeowners who have inground sprinkler systems, this time of year can be a little confusing when it comes to lawn care and maintenance. When the cold weather hits, a large number of homeowners assume it's time to abandon their regular lawn maintenance routines and turn off their sprinkler systems. But when is the right time to stop mowing, watering and looking after your lawn? Have you been calling it quits too early, or too late? If you stop watering your lawn too early, or you wait too long before winterizing your sprinkler system, you could be damaging the health of your lawn. Sure, you might not see the damage right away, especially as dew and snow start to cover your property, but you will see it come spring, when you realize your lawn was not healthy enough to survive the cold, dormant winter.

To help you understand how to keep your lawn strong and healthy this fall and winter, our irrigation experts have compiled a list of important tips on winterizing your irrigation, including when to winterize your system and how to do it.

Don't Stop Watering Until the Winter Freeze

The fall season is a very important time for your lawn. From September to December, your lawn will be busy absorbing the nutrients and moisture it needs to survive the winter. Because of this, it's crucial that you continue watering your lawn throughout the fall season. More specifically, it's important to keep watering your lawn right up until the first winter freeze. As a rule of thumb, your lawn should receive 2.5 cm of moisture and/or precipitation each week, up until the ground freezes, to ensure it remains healthy and resilient throughout the winter.

Don't Wait Too Long To Winterize

While some homeowners abandon their lawn maintenance routines too early when the cold weather hits, others sometimes wait too long to winterize their inground sprinkler systems. Just as abandoning your lawn too early can leave it susceptible to drought, disease and death, continuing to water your lawn after the winter freeze can cause significant damage to both your grass and your inground sprinkler system. In many cases, waiting too long to winterize your system can cause water to freeze in your pipes, which can lead to unnecessary damage and repair costs.

Winterize It Yourself

While it is always best to hire a professional company to winterize your inground sprinkler system, it is possible to tackle this task on your own. If you decide to winterize your system yourself remember to follow these important steps:

• Turn off the water to your system
• Shut down he controller
• Remove backflow preventer and risers
• Drain the water from your system

Hire a Professional Company To Winterize Your System

While it's possible to winterize your inground irrigation system yourself, we suggest contacting a professional company that can perform these tasks in a quick and efficient manner, and have the right equipment available to handle the job.

If you're looking for a professional irrigation company to winterize your system this fall, contact Nutri-Lawn Burlington Our team of experienced irrigation professionals can come out to your property to shut off your system, drain your irrigation lines and perform a routine maintenance check to look for broken sprinkler heads, rotors or other plumbing issues that may need to be fixed or addressed. Let us take care of your system today!