Winterizing your Evaporative Media System

The heat of summer is almost behind us for the majority of the United States. As we begin to break out the heaters, cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice everything, and prepare for the upcoming holidays, the summertime equipment that we couldn’t live without now needs to be properly prepped for the colder months of unuse. Business owners, farmers, and homeowners know that to keep equipment operating at peak performance (and save money over time), each piece of equipment needs to have proper maintenance and be prepared for times of minimal to no use. This equipment can range from a residential air conditioner to closing your pool, driving your mower into storage, or putting the lawn service on retainer for next year.

Your evaporative media system is not exempt from this annual process! To keep your media and system ready for the next heatwave, you need to prepare to winterize once the season changes. For those that have been in this industry for an extended period of time, you know how important it is to maintain your evaporative media system regularly. While it may not seem like an important detail, the benefits far outweigh the time spent.

Cold weather can wreak havoc on more than just roads and heating costs. It can also freeze water lines, push small animals to seek warmth, and cause materials to become brittle. Each issue is a massive hit on the wallet and budget for the upcoming year. While most of these can (and do) happen in homes and office buildings, they can also be issues encountered when your evaporative media system has not been transitioned to be idle for months on end. The last thing we want is for you to experience unnecessary mutilation like sagging media, scaling and algae buildup, or additional damages.

Outlined below are simple yet effective steps to winterize your evaporative media system:

1. Clean media according to manufacturer’s recommendations. Please follow your manufacturer’s guidelines for cleaning! There could be media-specific instructions that might be missed and cause damage to your media.
2. Flush and rinse the system with clean, fresh water after cleaning the media. This will help alleviate any impurities that are left on the media or in the system. Similar to washing your clothes, you want to make sure and rinse before putting them away!
3. Flush and remove all water from the system to prevent damage from freezing. Any leftover water in the system could freeze during extreme cold and cause thousands of dollars in damage. Not only could your wallet be affected, but the system could expand and warp to the point of not working at the same efficiency next summer.
4. Remove pumps from the system, if possible, and store where freezing cannot occur. We encourage you to take time to keep the machinery in an environmentally controlled area to prevent any damage. This also keeps small animals from damaging the wiring or tubing of the pump.
5. Cap off all openings to the system. When the temperature drops and we seek shelter inside where it’s warm, small animals will do the same! They are innovative and highly adaptable, so they can get inside almost any opening to hibernate for the winter – leaving you to clean up the dead, decayed mess in the heat next year.
6. The final step in this process is to sit back, drink a cup of hot cocoa, bundle up in your favorite sweater or blanket, and enjoy the colder months that bring some of our beloved holidays!

These steps are a quick outline of what you can do to prevent mishaps and save money on repairs when the weather warms up again.  If you need additional information or want to speak to someone to walk through this process, please contact our Kuul Customer Service team at kuulsupport@portacool.com or (800) 695-2942.  Our team is ready to assist you with any questions you may have and best practices to protect the longevity of your evaporative media system.