Everything in life requires maintenance: the air conditions, your health, your dog, and even your sprinkler system. Left unattended, the sprinkler system will not perform as it was installed to perform. Sprinkler systems are a maintenance item that needs to be attended to regularly; at least two or three times a year. There are at least five sprinkler repairs you need to avoid immediately which we will discuss today.
The first time to check your sprinkler system is in the spring when all danger of snow and frost is passed. Winter and non-use can cause problems and calling Utah affordable sprinkler repair will help keep your sprinkler system in good repair. You can try and troubleshoot your sprinkler system yourself, but it’s recommended that you call an affordable sprinkler repair company in Utah.
Below are five sprinkler repairs you need to take care of, and some you can avoid by being proactive.
Sprinkler System Controllers
New and even some older sprinkler system controllers are complicated, and it is difficult to program them correctly. The biggest mistake homeowners make with their sprinkler systems is setting the controlling system. If you don’t understand your controlling system, you could set your system for multiple start times. Multiple start times cause your system to run during two or more programmed schedules. Multiple start times in turn tells the system to water all zones many times a day. Overwatering your landscape by at least two times will cause the irrigation portion of your water bill to be at least two times higher, your lawn to be overwatered and lawn maintenance to be compromised.
Controllers are confusing, and if you were to unknowingly program your controller by thinking that each zone in your yard needs its own start time, you are telling your controlling to water the entire lawn many times a day. Note that there are very few controllers available that need that much programming to function properly. You just need to set your controller to run each zone with just one start time.
How can you prevent misaligning the control box? The best thing you can do is to call a Salt Lake sprinkler repair expert to show you how to set your sprinkler controller correctly. Once the controller is set where it needs to be, the best advice is to leave it alone and not try to change it.
Tiny Water Leaks all Over the Yard
You may not know it, but sprinkler heads leaking a small amount of water will have a huge impact on the condition of your landscape as well as the amount of money you will pay on your water bill. Sprinkler heads pop out of the ground and water your yard when the system is running correctly. But when they are damaged you need to call Utah fast sprinkler repair to take care of the leaks. You may need to replace heads that were cut by lawnmower blades, ran over by a car, or chewed up by a dog with strong jaws. Often this repair is left unchecked, and water leaks season after season.
Take time to walk to each head in your yard while the system is running. Check if each head is watering correctly. Watch for broken seals on a sprinkler head. Once a seal is broken, the leak will continue to get worse each year, and you are wasting more and more water. Over time, the reduction in the production of the head will force you to run those zones longer, or you will have dead grass in those spots.
Clean out your sprinkler heads. Cleaning sprinkler heads is a time-consuming step, but you need to inspect the heads for damage. If the nozzle is damaged, unscrew it from the head and buy a replacement at your local sprinkler repair center. If the project is bigger than just replacing heads, you may want to call quick sprinkler repair in Utah.
Broken Pipes
The single biggest cause of wasted water in a sprinkler system is a broken pipe. Wasted water from a sprinkler system means water is running through the pipes and the water is not properly delivered to the sprinkler heads. Utah sprinkler repair can help you and stop water from running willy-nilly underground or puddling on the lawn.
The amount of water wasted depends on the size of the break and whether it is in the mainline piping or in a zone pipe. Where the pipe is broken will determine if the leak runs 24/7 or if it only leaks when the system is running. A broken mainline pipe could leak nonstop until the water is shut off to the sprinkler system and repairs are completed. A zone line break will only leak when that particular zone runs from the controller.
To find a broken pipe, you might be able to tell simply by looking for soggy patches on the lawn. One way to find the broken pipe is to place caps on all your sprinkler heads to restrict water flow and turn on all sprinkler zones. Then all you need to do is wait and see where the water emerges through the soil.
Once you find the broken pipe, you will need to dig down and repair it. To solve this problem and get the repairs done right, call quick sprinkler repair in Utah. They will do the work clean up, and make sure your sprinkler system is running correctly when they are finished with repairs.
Sprinkler System Repair Goes Undetected for Months
If you live in a climate where there is a dormant season, like winter, then you are not running your sprinkler system 12 months of the year. There may be lighting damage, freezing pipes, or power surges that zap your appliances – even the sprinkler system. You won’t know about this problem until you turn on the system early in the spring.
You may not notice your need for sprinkler repair if only one valve wire or the valve itself is not functioning, and you ignore the problem until it becomes a bigger problem. Controllers, valves, and wiring are at risk for lightning strikes, accidental piercing, even aerating damage or worn-out wires.
Just an interesting story. In one Utah city during a lightning storm, lightning struck the controller located on the back of the house. This lightning strike caused the water in the piping to boil and burst through the grass. It was unusual to see, but a repair nightmare.
In this case, the only thing that could be done was to call a fast sprinkler repair in Salt Lake City. Of course, they quickly came out and were equally as astounded as the homeowner. They calmly went about their business and fixed the pipe and reset the system.
Animals Love Irrigation Wire
Chipmunks, squirrels, and dogs are cute, but many like to chew through irrigation wiring. Especially chipmunks who take up residence inside valve boxes for the sprinkler system. There are many wires in these boxes that run from the valves to your sprinkler system and these wires are what run the system. In one case, maybe the chipmunks were bored or hungry, but they made their home in the sprinkler valve boxes. Here they proceeded to chew up the wires, and the system quickly went out of commission.
Dogs can be culprits, too. A neighbor had his irrigation wires attached to the side of his house. His small puppy thought these wires were something to play with and chewed through them. Utah sprinkler repair had to be called and the entire valve box and all the wires needed repair. The repairs were costly, but the lawn was saved.
Automatic lawn irrigation or sprinkling systems are the best way to keep your lawn looking green and lush. When a sprinkling system is correctly designed and programmed, it will deliver the right amount of water to your yard. No more moving the hoses around and you can leave the sprinkling system to run on its own.
However, sprinkler systems do break down or wear out. You can address the most common problems by yourself using sprinkler repair parts but calling in a quick sprinkler repair in Utah will give you peace of mind that the repairs were done correctly.
Sprinkler systems involve both plumbing and electricity, but the pipes are usually plastic and easy to handle. Electrical lines are low voltage and not particularly hazardous. You don’t need special skills to make sprinkler repairs, but you will be better off if you use Utah’s affordable sprinkler repair.
Avoid making repairs in the wrong place or digging up half your lawn. Don’t worry about electrical shocks or putting the sprinkler heads on wrong. Call Affordable Lawncare and Landscape, a Utah affordable sprinkler repair company, landscape design, and lawn care maintenance company to make the repairs you need.
