Sprinkler Dilemma

I have lots of sympathy for people whose lives revolve around the weather.

My life doesn't revolve around it, but I have two decisions to make every year. In May, when should I have someone come out and turn on my sprinkler system? In October, when should I have someone come out to blow out the sprinklers for the winter and shut down the system?

October is the tougher one. With a sprinkler system, if there's water in the underground pipes and it freezes, that could cause the pipes to rupture, resulting in costly repairs. So, one should blow out sprinklers -- using an air compressor to remove the water from the pipes -- before the temps get below freezing. In my region, that usually means around the 15th to 20th of October. About that time, hand-made signs start going up around the neighborhood, where people have rented a compressor to blow out their own sprinklers, and now hope to make some money on the side by blowing out other residences in the neighborhood. I've always been dependent upon these sorts of neighbors, the 14 years I've lived here.

Well, after a lovely moist summer, things have gotten very dry the past month, while also remaining quite warm. On Wednesday, the high is supposed to be a whopping 77 degrees. Yet, on Thursday, an arctic blast is forecast to hit and the high is expected to be a mere 27 degrees and a low of 13 degrees. And yet, the temperature is supposed to shoot right back up to the high 60s for the following two weeks, at least.

So, what to do? Blow out the sprinklers due to one freezing day? And then not be able to water the dry lawn while it stays warm for another few weeks? Or, not blow out the sprinklers and risk the pipes freezing? If the pipes don't freeze, no problem. But with the temp getting down to 13 degrees -- shockingly low for this time of year -- it seems much more likely that they'll freeze than the past times when my sprinklers have survived 25 degree temps without incident.

I decided to let circumstances guide me, as that's the path of least resistance. I called the two people I've used in recent years, and both are no longer offering sprinkler service. One gave his customer list to someone else, but said that someone else won't be doing sprinklers before the Thursday arctic blast. So, I got in my car to drive around the neighborhood, hoping to see a lawn sign, though it's early in the season. Sure enough, I found one, with not only a phone number but a website address, like they're a real business. Yet, when I called the number, their voice mailbox was full -- no doubt with panicked homeowners trying to get on the schedule before Thursday. So, all I could do was leave a message via their website.

If they don't call back, or do but can't do anything before Thursday, I'll try not to worry about it. I know how to shut off the water, so if the pipes do break, water won't run when they thaw out. I also read somewhere that wrapping one's exterior sprinkler box in a blanket can help. I've done that in the past when the overnight temps got below freezing. Don't know if it really does anything, but it makes me feel better.

The funny thing about all this is that I've sometimes been tempted to try a winter without blowing out my sprinklers at all. One spring, when I'd had them turned back on, but then we had a blizzard the following week, I did some research on the internet, trying to find how likely it was that my sprinklers would freeze and blow. Some people reported having the unfortunate experience of broken sprinkler pipes, but it was amazing to come across, for example, someone who had lived in New Jersey all their life, had never heard of "blowing out" their sprinkler system, and had never had any problems with frozen pipes. The latter is one reason I know that the law of attraction is a genuine universal law. When one doesn't know a bad thing can happen, then they don't worry about it, and so their thoughts are never a match to that bad thing happening. I envy those who don't know that blowing out one's sprinklers before winter is a "thing".

There's also something I've never understood. The guy who blew out my sprinklers the first few years I lived here was able to shut off the sprinkler system in a way where I could still use the garden hose if the temps got unseasonably warm. Yet, every person I've used to blow out my sprinklers since has said there's no way to shut off the system without also shutting off the exterior water spigots. Yet, my neighbor is able to use his spigots, even after he has his sprinklers blown out. One day, I hope to understand this discrepancy.