Sprinkler Winterization

North Carolina winters can produce freezing temperatures that damage unprotected irrigation systems. Our winterization service uses compressed air to blow out all water from your pipes, heads, and valves, preventing freeze damage that can lead to cracked pipes and broken components. We also shut down your controller and insulate exposed components.

Winterizing your irrigation system before the first hard freeze is essential to prevent costly damage. Water left in pipes, valves, and sprinkler heads expands when it freezes, cracking PVC pipe, splitting valve bodies, and shattering head casings. In central North Carolina, where temperatures can drop into the low twenties and teens during December through February, an unwinterized system is almost guaranteed to suffer freeze damage that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair in spring.

Our winterization process uses compressed air to blow all remaining water out of every zone in your system. We start with the zone farthest from the water source and work systematically back, ensuring that every pipe, head, and valve is cleared. The air compressor we use is sized specifically for irrigation systems — delivering the right volume and pressure to clear lines without damaging components. We also shut off the water supply to the system, drain the backflow preventer, and set the controller to rain mode to prevent it from attempting to run cycles during winter.

We recommend scheduling winterization before Thanksgiving in central North Carolina, as hard freezes can arrive as early as late November. Our schedule fills quickly in October and November, so early booking is encouraged. After winterization, we place a service tag on your controller as a reminder that the system is shut down. In spring, our startup service reverses the process — gradually pressurizing the system, checking for any winter damage, and reprogramming the controller for the new growing season.