Prepare Yard Watering System for Winter

Manhattan, Kansas (November 11, 2010) No landscape plant should enter winter feeling like a drought victim.

Even so, winter can damage hoses and shallow irrigation lines that you forget and leave undrained. Hoses that remain attached to outdoor faucets can lead to cracked and broken pipes that flood the house.

Fortunately, draining a hose is simply a matter of gravity: The hose should be stretched out on the ground and then coiled over arm, shoulder or hose reel. The coil should then go into storage in a protected place until needed again, because undiluted sunlight is a major reason hoses age and become brittle over time.

Lawn irrigation systems usually have lines in the freeze zone, but many also are built to be self-draining. (Instruction manuals explain the best procedures.) If that kind of system has a main shut-off valve, typically it should be closed and then run through the system’s zones to ensure pressure has a chance to bleed off.

Some newer styles of outdoor faucet are designed to be frost-proof. The help the others need depends on whether there is access to a dedicated shut-off valve for each faucet, just inside the house or basement.

If not, each outdoor faucet should get some kind of insulating cover. Inexpensive Styrofoam surrounds are still available in hardware and home improvement stores. Newer designs on sale now are Thinsulate drawstring bags.

Faucets that do connect to their own shut-off valve must be drained:

• Shut off the indoor valve (which may just be a lever on a pipe).

• Turn on the outdoor faucet, let the water drain out and leave the faucet open.

• Get a bucket and go back to the shut-off valve. Locate and open (counterclockwise) its small cap or drain plug. When the water has finished draining, close the cap or plug.

• Go outside again and close the faucet. An insulating cover can also be added.