Wright Way Contracting, LLC
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Irrigation & Fall Seasonal Tips
Oct 14, 2013
We are coming into the cooler weather, and winter is fast approaching from the property maintenance standpoint. Now is a great time to make sure heaters are fired up and working as well as changing air filters for the new season of use if you haven't done it yet. We mentioned previously flushing and mantining water heaters, but really all water systems should be evaluated now as the cool down starts. Watering your grass or garden varies during this time of the year and you should be thinking about changing your sprinkler timers, or in some locations they can be turned off the entire season. If you are not using outdoor, exposed hose bibs or irrigation, most have shut off valves that you can turn off completely for the season so that water is not sitting in the exposed pipes to freeze, and break the line or cause damage. Most of you will have some type of irrigation valves that look like this.
These valves should be covered in an irrigation valvebox where freezing is possible and where temperatures regularly dip below freezing, you can also surround the valves with insulation around them in the box to keep them from freezing and breaking. Remeber that water standing in the freezing temperatures is prone to freezing and can do lots of pipe damage. This can apply if you have pools, hoses, irrigation, or even if you are in a home that is not well insulated against this such as mobile homes. The best bet is to keep any pipes that normall have water, drained during this time. One tip I have heard out there regularly if you are having an extreme cold spell and you are prone to freezing pipes like in a mobile home, is to leave the faucets running slowly over night when it is coldest as water is les likely to freeze in a pipe when moving, then when still. Just remember with this to take into account your drain. Make sure if you do this, that your drain line is not exposed to the elements, as it too can freeze, which would block the drain and cause an overflow in a faucet left running. Contact us for questions, or for a property evaluation, and or help insulating your pipes or home, and for help finding your shut off valves.
These valves should be covered in an irrigation valvebox where freezing is possible and where temperatures regularly dip below freezing, you can also surround the valves with insulation around them in the box to keep them from freezing and breaking. Remeber that water standing in the freezing temperatures is prone to freezing and can do lots of pipe damage. This can apply if you have pools, hoses, irrigation, or even if you are in a home that is not well insulated against this such as mobile homes. The best bet is to keep any pipes that normall have water, drained during this time. One tip I have heard out there regularly if you are having an extreme cold spell and you are prone to freezing pipes like in a mobile home, is to leave the faucets running slowly over night when it is coldest as water is les likely to freeze in a pipe when moving, then when still. Just remember with this to take into account your drain. Make sure if you do this, that your drain line is not exposed to the elements, as it too can freeze, which would block the drain and cause an overflow in a faucet left running. Contact us for questions, or for a property evaluation, and or help insulating your pipes or home, and for help finding your shut off valves.