A Sprinkler Maintenance Schedule for Maplewood, From Spring Start-Up to Fall Blow-Out

Mid-season tune-up for summer heat

The mid-season tune-up checks for leaks, clears clogs, realigns heads and adjusts the program for summer heat.

It is the visit that makes sure the system can carry the lawn through heavy use in hot, dry spells. We go through it in this order:

1. Check for leaks. Each zone runs while we look for soggy spots, weak heads and a valve box holding water.
2. Clear the clogs. A clogged "nozzle", the tip that shapes the spray, is cleaned or swapped so the head throws its full pattern again.
3. Realign the heads. Heads that have tilted, sunk or drifted onto the driveway are set straight and aimed back at the grass.
4. Adjust the program for the heat. Run times on the controller are reset for summer, zone by zone, so the lawn gets what it needs without runoff.

Fall blow-out before a hard freeze

The fall blow-out clears the lines with compressed air before overnight temperatures stay below freezing.

The trade calls it "winterization"; most owners call it blowing out the sprinklers. The Minnesota DNR freeze date probabilities show when that first fall freeze tends to arrive, and we book blow-outs ahead of it. The blow-out goes like this:

1. Shut off the water to the system. The supply is closed so nothing refills the lines while we work.
2. Connect the compressor. A high-volume air compressor is hooked to the system's blow-out point.
3. Blow out each zone. Every zone is opened in turn and run on air until the heads spit mist and then nothing, so no water is left in the underground lines.
4. Set the controller for winter. The controller is turned off for the season so it does not try to run an empty system.

Water left in the pipes can freeze and break them, and the damage stays hidden until the spring start-up.