Freezing temperatures are going to hit Marietta and surrounding Georgia areas in the beginning of next week. If you’re caught unprepared, your sprinklers and irrigation systems could sustain some damage. Before you get caught with a broken water pipe or other damage to your irrigation, follow this advice from C&M Residential.
The most vulnerable part of your irrigation system is the blackflow prevention device. This stops irrigation water from backing up into the domestic water inside the house. It is typically located somewhere right outside of your house, next to the foundation. The two parts of the backflow apparatus that you are most concerned with are the bonnet and poppet assembly and the valve. The bonnet and poppet assembly stop water flow. If it freezes and blows apart, water will run until it gets shut off. The resulting flood can cause serious property damage and lead to an expensive repair bill. The valve can also break when frozen leading to another expensive repair.
There are simple precautions that you can take to prevent freezing damage to this integral part of your irrigation system. Leave the valve turned at a 45 degree angle and wrap the entire device in a towel to insulate it from the cold. Then, wrap everything in a plastic bag and secure it with some tape to prevent water from getting to the delicate parts. If you have stopped watering before your system is winterized, drain the backflow system – and if you don’t know how to do this yourself, just call the professionals.
Completely winterizing your irrigation system consists of all of the water being blown from the pipes using a high pressure air hose. This prevents the frozen water from expanding and breaking your pipes. The cost of calling in a professional to winterize your irrigation system will be a drop in the bucket compared to replacing multiple areas of busted waterlines or your entire backflow system so call C&M Residential today and have us come out to help you make sure that you are preserving your irrigation systems for this coming spring.