Sprinkler Blow-Out and Spring Start-Up: What Each Visit Does

Why the system needs two visits a year

A sprinkler system spends the summer full of water and the winter full of risk. Water left in the lines can freeze, and frozen water expands. It can crack pipes, valves and fittings, and you often don't find out until the system comes on in spring and a geyser appears. The blow-out in fall and the start-up in spring are the two bookends that prevent that. Think of them as the cheap part of owning a system. The pipes, valves and heads under your lawn are expensive to dig up and replace, and these two visits are how you keep from doing that.

We offer both, along with repair, installation and maintenance, for residential and commercial systems.

The fall blow-out

A blow-out clears the water out of your sprinkler system so there's nothing left to freeze. We take a comprehensive approach to each one, because a pocket of water left in one low spot is enough to split a pipe.

Timing matters. You want the blow-out done before the first hard freeze, not after the first night in the teens. If you're reading this in October, it's a good week to call.

A few things help on blow-out day. Make sure the crew can reach the controller and the shut-off. If your yard has a gate, make sure it's open or give us a key or code. If you have drip irrigation in your beds, mention it, since those lines need to be cleared too. It also helps to disconnect and drain your garden hoses before the first freeze, so water isn't sitting in them or in the spigot.

The spring start-up

A start-up gets the system running safely for the growing season. We prepare it for activation, then run an inspection to check for leaks and timing issues. A spring tune-up also covers cleaning filters and adjusting settings so the system is watering efficiently from the first week.

This is where problems surface, and you want them to surface in April, not in July. A head that was knocked crooked by a mower, a valve that sticks, a zone that no longer matches the timer: a start-up visit catches all of those while the lawn still has a cushion.

Sensors are another thing we adjust. If your system has a rain or moisture sensor, it only saves you water if it's set correctly. In a dry climate like ours, that matters. A system that waters the sidewalk, or runs on a timer that no longer fits the season, wastes water and starves the lawn at the same time. A start-up is the easiest moment to fix both.

When a broken line can't wait

Most lawn work can be scheduled for next week. A broken main line cannot. Without water, a lawn in a Yakima summer starts to decline in days, not weeks.

One of our customers, Raymond, a West Valley resident, described it in a Google review. The main filter hookup to his irrigation line was out and broken, and he couldn't water his lawn for more than a week. He'd scheduled help from someone else who couldn't make it. He called us, and as he wrote, we showed up the same day, about an hour later, and fixed it without delay.

We don't tell that story to brag. We tell it because it's what a sprinkler emergency looks like, and it's the reason we answer the phone. If your system fails in the middle of the season, a fast repair is worth more than a perfect appointment slot next month.

What a repair covers

• Damaged sprinkler heads
• Leaks in lines and fittings
• Valve malfunctions
• Drip irrigation problems
• Electrical issues in the controller or wiring
• Sensor adjustments to cut water waste

Between the two seasonal visits, watch your lawn. Brown patches that appear in the same spot every week, a puddle that never drains, or a head that no longer pops up are all signs that something needs attention. Don't wait for a bigger bill. Small leaks get bigger, and a head that was damaged by a mower will keep spraying the wrong place until someone fixes it.

To book a blow-out, a start-up or a repair, call (509) 834-0974 or ask for a free estimate. We serve Yakima, Union Gap, Selah, West Valley, Terrace Heights and Fruitvale.