It’s crucial to properly perform irrigation maintenance to ensure your yard and plants stay in immaculate condition year-round. Irrigation systems bring many benefits to homeowners, like making watering your lawn and garden simple and hassle-free.
However, many homeowners don’t know how to maintain irrigation systems, reducing their overall efficiency over time. This can hurt the health and aesthetics of their lawn and other natural areas.
The professionals at Simmons Landscape & Irrigation have put together this brief guide to teach you and other homeowners proper irrigation system maintenance. This way, you can keep your sprinklers in tip-top shape year-round.
Here’s what we want all homeowners with a sprinkler system to know about maintaining them.
Sprinkler Types
Sprinkler systems take the hassle out of watering your yard by handling the process from start to finish. The sprinkler heads automatically pop up and water your yard at set times, allowing you to sit back and relax while they handle all the hard work.
There are several sprinkler types available, including but not limited to:
- Inground sprinklers
- Stationary sprinklers
- Impact sprinklers
- Traveling sprinklers
- Misting sprinklers
- Sprinkler hoses
Like most things, irrigation and sprinkler systems require maintenance from time to time to maintain optimal performance. You may also have to troubleshoot your system from time to time to figure out a solution if something goes wrong.
Below are some efficient irrigation maintenance tips to help your sprinkler systems reach their full potential.
How To Perform Irrigation Maintenance
Regularly Clean the Sprinkler Heads
Clogged nozzles and sprinkler heads can’t function properly, causing lackluster watering cycles. This will eventually take a toll on your lawn and garden.
Dirt, debris, grass clippings, and more often get trapped within your sprinkler heads over time. Regularly cleaning your sprinkler heads helps distribute the water evenly and fully to your yard, ensuring your yard receives the best watering throughout the year.
We recommend cleaning your sprinkler heads a few times a season to maintain optimal water pressure and distribution. Since different sprinkler systems require specific cleaning techniques, it’s best to talk to your irrigation system manufacturer to learn the best cleaning strategy for your sprinkler type.
Handle Sprinkler Leaks Immediately
Sprinkler leaks are worse for your lawn and plants than you might think. They can overwater your lawn and garden, causing brown spots, dead grass or plants, and numerous other adverse effects. Nobody wants dead, swampy areas on their front or back lawns.
Sprinkler leaks can also cause your monthly water bills to skyrocket, costing you up to hundreds of dollars if you don’t address the issue quickly. If it’s bad enough, you may want to turn off the water to the system until a professional can come to check it out.
Always contact a professional irrigation maintenance company as soon as you notice signs of a sprinkler leak.
Regularly Check the Sprinkler Valves
Faulty and failing sprinkler valves are among the leading causes of sprinkler leaks. They play a critical role in the water distribution process, making them an essential part of your irrigation system.
Like sprinkler leaks, faulty valves often cause dry spots or overwatered areas due to abnormal water pressure. We recommend occasionally checking each sprinkler head and the valve assembly to ensure everything remains optimal and intact.
However, it’s important to note that some central valve assemblies are underground. Contact a professional irrigation service for swift and efficient repairs if you have an underground central valve assembly.
Test Your Sprinkler System’s Voltage
Multimeters are easy to use and can help make your sprinkler system easier to service. Testing your sprinkler system’s voltage with a multimeter is one of the best ways to assess the electronic components’ performance. It analyzes the system’s transformer, solenoid, wiring, and controller functionality, allowing you to adjust them when necessary.
Most sprinkler systems require 24 volts (VAC). However, a range of 22 to 28 volts is also acceptable.
Contact an irrigation maintenance specialist if your system has inadequate voltage or any other electrical issue. They understand how to repair electrical problems safely and effectively. Electric repairs are exceedingly dangerous, so we recommend never attempting to fix these issues yourself.
Maintain Transformers
Transformers control your irrigation system’s power and operation, allowing valves, pipes, and sprinkler heads to work together to maintain your lawn. However, a malfunctioning transformer can throw off your watering cycle, causing multiple problems you want to avoid.
You can use a multimeter to analyze the transformer’s overall well-being. It’s best to regularly check the transformers for fraying, weathering, and erosion to ensure everything functions properly. A multimeter will also help you determine when to replace your transformer.
Waterproof Connectors
It’s no secret that electricity and water don’t mix. Combining the two is extremely dangerous and can lead to severe injuries or death. That’s why you must waterproof your irrigation system’s wire connections to ensure safe and effective operation. Any professional irrigation installer will know to do this.
If your sprinkler system didn’t come with waterproof connectors, replace them as soon as possible. Waterproof connectors are inexpensive and readily available at most home improvement stores. They often cost less than a dollar, allowing you to protect your irrigation system without spending a small fortune.
If you want to give your sprinkler system an extra layer of protection, you can add a high-quality sealant to the waterproof connectors. The sealant limits moisture exposure and keeps your irrigation system secure and robust.
Replace the Sprinkler Solenoid
Solenoids are electromagnets that work with the irrigation system’s controller to open and close sprinkler valves. When solenoids break down, they can cause leaks and other issues that lower your system’s performance.
Most sprinklers require you to disassemble the valve to replace solenoids, making the process a bit complicated. We recommend hiring an irrigation maintenance company to replace solenoids to ensure the best results.
It’ll be helpful to know the different parts of an irrigation system when maintaining your system.
Contact Simmons Landscape and Irrigation for First-class Irrigation Maintenance in Bowling Green, OH
If you need lawn irrigation maintenance in Bowling Green, OH, contact Simmons Landscape & Irrigation. Our irrigation specialists can take your sprinkler system to the next level at a price you can afford.
Fill out our contact form today and see what our team can do for you!