What is a Winterization?
Why you should blow out your sprinkler system in Utah
In Utah County and Salt Lake County, winter temperatures can be unpredictable: some years we have warm winters, and some years they are unbearably cold. When winter weather gets bad, the pipes in your sprinkler system can burst, causing leaks and damage to your home. A professional sprinkler winterization is the best way to prevent this issue. We turn off your water supply and blow out all of your sprinkler lines with high-pressure air to remove as much water as possible.
Some homeowners choose to winterize their sprinkler systems themselves either by turning them off and allowing them to drain or blowing them out with a small air compressor. Hiring a professional is more convenient, more thorough, and will give you peace of mind compared to doing it yourself.
When to Blow Out Sprinklers
When should I turn off my sprinkler system for winter?
Lawn sprinkler systems need to be winterized before the first hard freeze of the year! Above-ground system components like backflow preventers are especially at risk of cracking and freezing once temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The “frost line” (how deep freezing temperatures penetrate into the ground) differs from state to state. In northern Utah, freezing temperatures can penetrate as deep at 30 inches, which means sprinkler lines are at risk. In some areas of the country, homeowners with lawn sprinkler systems may choose to skip winterization all together, since temperatures rarely get below freezing. However, in northern Utah, it is a non-negotiable step in system maintenance. The time of winterization varies depending on weather, but we perform the majority of our winterizations during the month of October.
Steps to Winterize a Sprinkler System
For most homeowners, the main shutoff valve for a sprinkler system is either in their basement or in the yard near the home’s water meter. Some valves are self-draining (stop and waste valves) while others are not. It is important to know which type you have. In pressurized irrigation (secondary water) cities like Spanish Fork, Pleasant Grove, Alpine, and Bluffdale, the city will shut off the water as well, but it is good to shut it off at your own system for safety. Most cities shut off secondary water on October 15. We recommend winterizing your system between October 1-31.
For lawn irrigation systems running on culinary water (very common in Utah, especially in older cities), backflow preventers are generally required by local building codes. These come in various shapes and sizes and can be above ground or below ground, but most are above ground and made out of metal. The purpose of a backflow preventer is to prevent contaminated water in the irrigation system from flowing back into the drinking water supply. Each backflow preventer is different in winterization steps, so it is best to find an online manufacturer guide for your specific backflow preventer. However, most backflow preventer winterizations follow a few main steps:
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Shut off the water supply
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Shut off the outlet valve
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Open a drain, if you have one
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Open test cocks (small ball valves)
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Remove vessel (if using a Wilkins 375, a common model)
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Blow out the pipes.
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With water remaining shut off, turn all test cocks and inlet/outlet ball valves to the half open/half closed position (45 degree angle)
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If you are expecting extremely cold weather, wrap insulation material around the backflow preventer.
Important note: systems running on secondary water supplies (pressurized irrigation) do not need backflow prevention, so this step can be skipped depending on your city.
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Blow out each sprinkler station, one at a time, by hooking an air compressor into the main line of the sprinkler system and running a sprinkler cycle for about 5 minutes per station. An air compressor can attach through a spigot connected to the system or a winterization port. Some systems have automatic drains that release water when the system is not under pressure. However, many contractors advise against relying on these because they can fail, creating a false sense of security. Wherever possible, it is best to blow out all sprinkler lines with an air compressor. On most residential systems, a small 30-gallon air compressor is sufficient for this process. Many professionals favor higher CFM (cubic feet per minute) compressors because they are faster and more thorough, especially on larger and commercial systems. It is highly recommended that backflow preventer outlet valves are closed for this process so that internal components are not damaged by the compressed air.
Some controllers, such as Rachio controllers, call this “hibernation mode.” This stops electrical signals from flowing to the valves, which prevents wasting electricity and needlessly wearing out a system’s electrical components. However, if you forgot to turn the controller off, it is okay. Just make sure the water is turned off! Some homeowners don't realize that turning off the sprinkler system from the controller does not prevent freeze damage. For that protection, the water supply itself needs to be turned off.
There is no reason to water your lawn between October and March. Utah landscapes generally use cool-season grass like kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue. This type of grass is resilient to the cold but struggles in the heat, which is why your lawn looks green in the winter and brown in the summer. To avoid freeze damage in your system or wasting water, don't turn on your sprinklers until it warms up again. The best time to turn your sprinklers on in Utah is in April.
Cost to Blow out Sprinklers in Utah
Price of Sprinkler Winterization
If you do it yourself, a sprinkler blow out takes 1-2 hours and costs only as much as the air compressor you use, whether you buy or rent. Keep in mind that smaller air compressors are less thorough and slower for blowing out your sprinkler lines.
If you hire a professional, expect to pay professional rates! If you are looking for a company that will do a thorough job, provide excellent customer service, and send only qualified technicians to your property, call Storm Sprinklers today. In 2026, we charge $175 for an irrigation blow-out (up to 8 valves), or $149 for members of our Storm Shield maintenance plan, which also receive a spring tune-up. For scheduling convenience, warranty protection, and a ton of other benefits, most of our customers prefer Storm Shield memberships.
$175
Standard Price
$149
Member Price
Service Area
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Alpine
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Cedar Hills
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Elk Ridge
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Woodland Hills
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Eagle Mountain
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Saratoga Springs
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American Fork
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Vineyard
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Highland
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Salem
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Mapleton
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Payson
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Santaquin
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Springville
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Spanish Fork
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Lindon
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Pleasant Grove
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Orem
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Provo
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Magna
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Bluffdale
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South Salt Lake
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Holladay
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Midvale
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Cottonwood Heights
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Kearns
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Riverton
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Draper
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Murray
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Taylorsville
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Herriman
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Millcreek
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South Jordan
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Sandy
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West Jordan
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West Valley City
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Salt Lake City
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course you can! Whether you choose to do this yourself depends on a few factors:
1. Time. Do you have an hour or two to devote to this project?
2. Capacity. Do you own an air compressor and attachments to fit it to your sprinkler system?
3. Warranty. Are you interested in a warranty from Storm Sprinklers on either a repair or new installation? Our warranties require winterization with our company to be maintaned from season to season.
If you are not concerned about these potential obstacles, we recommend winterizing your sprinklers on your own to save money!
When water freezes, it expands in size by 9%. When a pipe is full of water and the water freezes, pipes crack. This is true for all types of pipe: metal, PVC, drip tube, polyethylene, and copper. This also includes fixtures such as filters, valves, sprinkler heads, and backflow preventers. By blowing out the sprinkler system with pressurized air, we ensure no damage to the system when freezing temperatures come.
The best time to blow out your landscape irrigation pipes and sprinkler heads is in October. While some prefer to wait until the last minute and keep watering until November, prices are higher and spots are fewer in November. It is even okay to winterize your sprinklers in September!
We service all of Utah County and Salt Lake County, from Santaquin to Salt Lake City. This includes areas like Provo, Spanish Fork, Mapleton, Lehi, Bluffdale, Sandy, Draper, Cottonwood Heights, Kearns, Riverton, and Saratoga Springs, as well as many others. We are a locally owned and operated business dedicated to improving Utah homeowners' experiences with local sprinkler companies.
When you fail to winterize your sprinkler system in northern Utah, underground sprinkler pipes and fittings that are full of water will freeze and crack, causing leaks in the spring. In the worst of cases, this can compromise irrigation lines for hundreds of feet, leading to massive repair costs in the spring. Failure to winterize is one of the most common causes of expensive repairs we see in the spring, especially on backflow preventers.
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Drip irrigation tubes are common in garden beds, but since these have a controlled flow rate at each emitter, the fastest way to winterize a drip tube is to find one end of it and remove the cap or kink to completely open up air flow.
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With the right fittings, you can even hook the air compressor up to a sprinkler head, and blow backwards through the sprinkler valve into other lines. However, the backwards flow through a valve can choke the air flow, so this is not the most efficient way to winterize, as you need to attach to each zone separately to thoroughly blow out the lines.
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The goal of winterization is to get as much water as you can out of the pipes, but you don’t have to get it all, because water only expands 9% in volume when it freezes.
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Rotary nozzles on sprinkler heads, like MP rotators and Rainbird RVAN nozzles have a slower and more controlled water output, which means they take longer to winterize.
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Smart sprinkler controllers from brands like Rachio, Hunter, B-Hyve, and Rainbird make winterizations easy because you don’t have to go back and forth from the timer to the lawn.
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Easy Scheduling
Online Booking, 24/7 Phones
Ready to book your blow out service and protect your irrigation system? Your appointment is only a few clicks away. We offer online booking and we have AI agents to answer after-hours phone calls, so you can get on the schedule in just a couple of minutes, no matter your preferred method of booking. Looking for a more human booking experience? We've got that too: call during normal business hours and our friendly staff will leave you on cloud nine. Scheduling a sprinkler winterization has never been so easy. Don't wait: spots fill fast and we only have a limited number of spots available for the winter! Call now to be placed on our schedule.