It’s Almost Time to Winterize Your Outdoor Plumbing

When the weather begins to change, the nights become cooler, the leaves start to fall and the day becomes shorter reminding us that fall is here and the New Jersey winter is just around the corner. It’s time to think about your outside water lines so that you prevent freezing, and ultimately damage to your home. More often than not, we are too busy to remember to do this and it is not until the thaw of spring grabs our attention and we hear water ‘running’ only to find that a pipe has frozen, split or burst!
Here are some Useful Tips:

• Locate the shutoff valve inside your home for any outdoor line and turn it off.
  Go to the hose faucet outside. If your garden hose is attached, remove it. (You may wish to bring the hose into your garage or shed so that it won’t split and freeze)
  Turn on the hose faucet outside. You may notice residual water draining from the ‘hose bib’. Leave this faucet ‘open’ so that the line won’t expand and ultimately split.
• Cabana and Pool Owners :
  Winterize any and all exterior lines. Likely the services of a professional may be required here. Any remaining water may cause damage over the winter to lines and/or fixtures. A compressor is recommended.
• Pond Owners:
  Be sure you have a pond heater to sustain your outdoor fish. This automatic device will maintain a suitable temperature for your pond and keep a ‘hole’ in any snow or ice so that toxins don’t build in the pond and cause the fish to die. It’s a horrible thing to find ‘fish-sicles” after the first freeze when you’ve forgotten to place the heater in the pond.
• Underground Sprinkler Systems:
  Call the company that maintains your system to winterize these fragile lines.
  As an extra layer of protection It is wise to use a compressor to ‘blow’ the water out of any outdoor lines
  
  Before you know it, spring will return and you can start the process over again. Stay tuned.