Fall is a transitional season for homeowners in several areas, and these may extend to certain parts of your landscape in many situations. One example: Those who have landscaping fountains or other major water features as part of their landscape will need to winterize these items before the Utah winter and its freezing temperatures arrive.

At Olympus Landscaping, we’re here to not only provide landscaping design and installation services throughout Herriman and other parts of Utah, but also to assist our clients with important seasonal areas like winterization. Whether you’re carrying out this process on a DIY basis or with the assistance of our landscaping professionals, this two-part blog series will go over some basic steps on how to winterize a garden fountain correctly.

Unplug and Clean Fountain Pump

First and foremost, you need to unplug your outdoor fountain pump prior to beginning this process. At Olympus Landscaping, we’re here to assist you in cleaning your garden fountain at any point in the year when necessary, but if you are doing it yourself, make sure that you are following all of the recommended safety protocols. You may need to wear gardening gloves during this process to avoid getting any oils from your skin on the equipment.

Once you’ve unplugged the system and removed the pump, clean it using a cloth soaked in vinegar. Afterwards, rinse the pump off with some water and allow it to dry on its own. If you need to scrub some hard-to-reach areas, an old toothbrush might come in handy.

Drain Water from the Fountain

Next up, it’s time to drain the fountain itself. Many fountains will come with quick-drain features that will allow you to simply open a valve and let the water naturally drain out. If this is not an option on your fountain, you can also employ a bucket to catch the water as it comes through the spigot. Just remember that any accessories such as figurines or rocks will need to be removed prior to catching the water so you don’t damage them in the process.

Clean Fountain Interior

Once the water is drained, scrub the inside of your fountain basin with a mixture of 1/4 cup baking soda to 1/2 gallon warm water to get it sparkling clean. Be sure not to use soap to do so, as these could damage your fountain in the process.

If you have significant buildup of calcium or lime in the fountain, you may also consider using a vinegar and water solution on harder-to-remove contaminants. This can be effective on limestone surfaces, which are common with many water features.

Part two of our series will go over the final steps in this process, plus how our pros will help. For more on this, or to learn about any of our landscaping and lawn care services in Herriman and nearby areas, speak to the staff at Olympus Landscaping today.