Your fall sprinkler closing — how to prepare, what we do, and what happens after.

A fall closing is a short visit — usually under an hour — but a few minutes of preparation on your end makes it faster, and knowing what happens afterward stops the two mistakes we see most: turning the water back on, and unplugging the controller. Here's the whole thing from your side of it.

How do you prepare for a sprinkler winterization?

The full pre-visit checklist:

• Find the main shut-off. On most York Region homes it's inside — a valve on the line where it leaves the basement, usually near the water meter. On some newer installs it's in a box outside. If you're not sure, look for a valve with a small drain fitting below it.
• Clear the path to the backflow preventer and the blow-out fitting. These are often together, near where the line comes outside. Move planters, bins and hoses.
• Lift the leaves off your valve boxes. Green lids, usually along the edge of a bed or at the side of the house. We'll open every one.
• Unlock gates and keep pets inside. We walk the whole property.
• Leave the controller on. Don't unplug it, don't switch the breaker. We'll put it into winter mode ourselves — see the controller section below.
• Write down what bugged you. A head that never popped fully, a wet spot, a zone that ran weak in August. This is the best time of year to note it, because it goes straight onto your spring start-up list.
• Keep watering until the visit. Don't shut anything down ahead of time. If you're wondering about timing, read when to turn off your sprinklers in Ontario.

Do you need to be home for a sprinkler blow-out?

Only if the main shut-off is inside the house, which it usually is. If it's outside and the gate's open, you don't need to be there. If it's inside, someone needs to let us in for a few minutes at the start — or arrange access ahead of time.

This is the one thing worth sorting out when you book. If the shut-off is in the basement and nobody can be home, we can't close the system. A lockbox, a neighbour with a key, or scheduling around your day all work — just tell us at booking so nobody's standing on the porch.

What happens during a fall sprinkler closing?

We shut the water off at the main, drain the manifold, connect a low-pressure commercial compressor at the blow-out fitting, and run each zone with air until the heads run dry. Then every valve box and head gets a visual check, the controller goes into winter mode, and you get a written summary.

The six steps, in order, are on our fall winterization service page if you want the detail on each. A few things worth knowing from the homeowner's side:

• Zones run one at a time, on air. You'll hear heads pop up and hiss rather than spray. That's normal. Each zone gets pushed until the mist at the last head stops — usually a minute or two — and then we move on. We don't run zones dry for long stretches; pushing dry air through a rotor for five minutes builds heat and is a good way to cook the gear drive.
• Pressure stays low. Poly lines are blown at low pressure with high air volume — the opposite of a small shop compressor, which has the pressure but not the volume. This is the whole reason a tow-behind commercial compressor shows up, not a pancake unit.
• The manifold gets drained, not just closed. Standing water in the manifold is the most common source of cracked-valve calls every April.
• Backflow preventer. If yours is outdoors it gets drained and blown out properly, at low pressure, so nothing sits in it over winter. We don't test or certify backflow assemblies — that's a separately licensed Ontario trade — but leaving one full of water is not something we'd walk past.

How long does a sprinkler winterization take?

Thirty to forty-five minutes for a typical four-to-eight-zone residential system. Larger properties and systems with drip zones or multiple manifolds run longer. Most of the time is the zone-by-zone blow-out; the inspection and controller work take a few minutes.

If we find something during the walk — a cracked head, a valve that won't shut cleanly — we note it. We don't quote or repair on a closing visit. That's deliberate: fall is not the time to open up a repair, and you shouldn't be asked to make a decision on the spot. It goes on your spring list.

What should you do after a sprinkler blow-out?

Nothing. Leave the main shut-off closed, leave the controller in winter mode, and don't run a zone "just to check." The single biggest post-closing mistake is turning the water back on. Once the system is dry, the only way to damage it is to put water back in.

A few specifics:

• Don't reopen the main. Not for a warm week in October, not because a neighbour is still watering. If the lawn looks dry, a hose is fine; the system stays off.
• Don't run zones from the controller. With the water off, running a zone does nothing useful — but with the water accidentally on, it refills the lines.
• Leaves on heads are fine. They don't hurt anything and clear themselves in spring.
• Snow, salt and plows. Heads along the driveway edge are the ones that get clipped. If you know a plow contractor is aggressive, mark the edge heads with a stake — it's cheaper than replacing them at $68 each in April.
• Keep the written summary. It's the start of your spring start-up list.

What happens to the controller over winter?

It stays powered and stays put. Hydrawise controllers are suspended in the app so no schedule runs, but Wi-Fi and settings stay live for spring. Basic timers like the Hunter X-Core get the dial turned to System Off. Don't unplug either one.

The reason we don't cut power: a controller that loses power for the winter can lose its clock, its program, or in the case of a smart controller its network connection — and you'll be re-entering everything in April. Modern controllers draw almost nothing at idle.

If you have a Hydrawise and want to check it during the winter, the app should show the controller online with the schedule suspended. If it shows offline, it's almost always a Wi-Fi change rather than a controller fault — here's how to fix a Hydrawise showing offline. If you're on an X-Core and the dial got bumped to a program position, turn it back to System Off; the run times are still stored. Full X-Core walkthrough here.

What does PJL flag for spring during a closing?

Anything we see or hear that shouldn't be there: a head that doesn't pop or retract cleanly, a valve that hisses after its zone is done, a wet valve box, a zone that takes far longer than the others to run dry. Each item goes on your written summary with a plain-language note.

A zone that takes much longer to blow dry than its neighbours is the one worth paying attention to — it often means a low spot in the line or a fitting that's letting air past, and it's the kind of thing that shows up as a wet patch next May. Flagging it now means the spring opening crew — usually the same person — walks in knowing where to look.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to turn off my water before the sprinkler company comes?

No. Leave everything running normally. Shutting off the main and draining the system is the first step of the closing, and we'd rather do it in the right order.

Can you winterize sprinklers if the controller is already off?

Yes. The controller state doesn't matter for the blow-out — we can run zones manually or from the valves. Just leave it powered so the settings survive the winter.

What if it rains on my closing day?

Rain doesn't stop a blow-out. Lightning does. If we have to push a visit for weather, you'll hear from us the morning of, and you keep your place in the queue.

Should I cover my backflow preventer for winter?

If it's outdoors, draining it is what matters. An insulated cover is a reasonable extra layer but it doesn't replace getting the water out. Backflow testing itself is a separate licensed trade — we'll point you to a certified tester if your municipality requires one.

How much does a fall sprinkler closing cost?

Flat-rate by zone count: $90 for up to four zones, $105 for five or six, $120 for seven or eight, and $165 for nine to fifteen. No service call fee and no on-site quote for standard residential systems. Compare that to a single freeze-cracked manifold rebuild at $135 plus the $95 service call.