Preparing You Home for Winter

Winter is here, and if you haven't prepared your home and yard for winter, it is still not too late. I live in Sandy, Utah, and we've already had a couple of snow storms, but the sub-freezing temperatures haven't been drastic enough to break sprinkler pipes. However, I've already winterized my sprinklers. To winterized them I hook up an air compressor and individually blow out each station. You do have to be careful to not over pressurize the system. I only run about 25 psi and it is enough to blow out standing water in the pipes. After the leaves have all fallen, is the time to clean out rain gutters. If you don't clean them out, water can back up and freeze and split your rain gutters. Speaking of leaves, rake them up. If they are left on your lawn, they will mat your lawn, making it difficult to get an early growth in the Spring. This is also a good time to put a clean furnace filter in.