Getting ready for the winter isn't just about blowing out your sprinklers. You need to think about preparing your pipes too.
This will help avoid frozen pipes and a huge repair bill this winter.
Master Plumber Christopher Doyle from EC Plumbing showed us some tips you can do yourself.
First find where your water main comes into your house
Look for the "T" in the pipe - that will be the supply to the irrigation system outside.
Turn off the valve with lever or ball on it.
Rotate the lever 90 degrees to shut off the system. Then remove bleeder screw. Drain water into cup or bucket.
Leave bleeder screw off and put in a place you can find it in the spring.
Go outside and locate your backflow preventer. You will have two shut off valves and two bleeder test ports.
Turn both valves to a 45-degree position. Also, you will want to take a screw driver and turn the test bleed ports to a 45-degree position.
Doyle says the last thing you need to do is make sure the hoses are disconnected from you home. He also suggests hiring an irrigation company to blow out your irrigation pipes.
Doyle says for any repair work, make sure you protect yourself and your home by using a licensed and certified plumber.
For more information: http://ec-plumbing.com/
(2015 TEGNA)
