What Happens If You Missed Your Sprinkler Winterization

The forecast is here. Temperatures are dropping, and if your sprinkler system hasn't been winterized yet, you're probably wondering how worried you should be — and what, if anything, you can do right now.

The honest answer depends on how cold it gets and how long it stays cold. Here's what you need to know, and what steps you can take to protect yourself while you wait for an appointment.

Why a Missed Winterization Is a Real Risk

When water freezes, it expands — and it expands with enough force to crack PVC pipe, split valve bodies, and destroy backflow preventers. Unlike a burst pipe inside your home, sprinkler damage usually stays hidden underground or behind landscaping. You won't know it happened until spring, when you turn the system on and discover the damage.

Common repairs from a missed winterization include:

• Cracked or split PVC pipe sections

• Blown valve bodies or solenoids

• Destroyed backflow preventers — often the most expensive single component

• Damaged spray heads and rotor bodies

Repair costs vary depending on what froze and where, but it's not unusual for skipped winterization damage to run several hundred dollars or more. Compared to the cost of a blowout, it's an expensive lesson.

One Hard Freeze May Not Destroy Your System

If the forecast is calling for temperatures right around freezing — say, 33 or 32 degrees overnight — and it warms back up quickly the next day, your system may come through without damage, especially if your pipes are buried at normal depth. A single light frost is not the same as a prolonged hard freeze.

The risk escalates significantly when:

• Temperatures drop into the mid-20s or lower

• Freezing temperatures persist for multiple days in a row

• Frost begins penetrating into the ground

At that point, the water sitting in your underground lines, valve boxes, and backflow preventer has nowhere to go but into the pipe walls — and that's when things break.

What You Can Do Right Now

If you haven't been able to get your winterization scheduled yet, there are steps you can take tonight to reduce your risk:

1. Shut off the water supply to your sprinkler system.

Find the main irrigation shutoff valve — usually located in your basement, utility room, or near your water meter — and turn it off. This stops any new water from entering the system.

2. Winterize your backflow preventer.

Your backflow preventer is the device mounted on the outside of your home where the irrigation line exits the house. It's one of the most vulnerable components and one of the most expensive to replace. To protect it:

• Turn the shutoff handles on both sides of the unit to 45 degrees — this allows water to pass on both sides of the ball valve rather than trapping it where it could freeze

• Turn the drain at the bottom to 45 degrees as well if your unit has one

• Open the small test cock nipples on the body of the backflow preventer — this allows air inside, which helps prevent any remaining water from freezing

These steps won't replace a professional blowout, but they remove water from the most vulnerable parts of the system and significantly reduce your risk on a borderline freeze night.

3. Get on the schedule as soon as possible.

If you haven't already, contact Alternate Rain to get on our schedule. We will do our best to fit you in as quickly as we can. The sooner we can get there, the better — especially if more freezing temperatures are in the forecast.

When It's Too Late for a Temporary Fix

If temperatures are consistently freezing and frost is already penetrating the ground, shutting off the water and 45-ing the backflow preventer may not be enough to prevent damage to your underground lines. At that point the priority shifts from prevention to early detection — get your system blown out as soon as the weather breaks and have us check for damage before you run it again in the spring.

Running a damaged system in the spring before it's inspected can turn a small crack into a much bigger problem, so resist the urge to just turn it on and see what happens.

The Good News

If your system is newer, well-installed, and properly buried, it has some natural protection. A single light freeze overnight is unlikely to cause catastrophic damage. The temporary steps above give you real protection on borderline nights.

But don't push your luck. Once consistent freezing temperatures arrive, the risk compounds quickly. Get scheduled, take the temporary precautions tonight, and you'll be in much better shape come spring.

Schedule Your Winterization with Alternate Rain

Alternate Rain has been winterizing sprinkler systems in the Omaha metro area — including Elkhorn, Papillion, Bellevue, Gretna, Bennington, Waterloo, La Vista, Blair, and Valley — for over 40 years. If you still need your system blown out, contact us today and we'll get you on the schedule as soon as possible. Don't wait for the next forecast to remind you.