Maybe if you just ignore your irrigation system, everything will just be fine.
Or maybe little lawn elves wearing tiny mushroom hats will appear in the moonlight and magically take care of any broken sprinkler heads or leaks.
What a lovely little world that would be.
It’s time to wake up now and learn how to inspect an irrigation system. What should you check once in a while, you know, in case the elves don’t show up?
Check Your Irrigation Controller
This is a good place to start. Is it plugged in firmly? Are the sensors and wires connected properly?
You might think you have a leak because you’re using more water than you think you should be. But maybe your controller is set to turn on too many times.
Is it set for the right season? Or maybe watering your landscaping too much or too little for the time of year?
If you haven’t already discovered this, irrigation controllers can be confusing. It’s why lots of homeowners just leave them set the same all year long, which is bad for your lawn and landscaping.
If you have Controller Confusion, that alone is a good reason to hire a professional irrigation system inspection.
Irrigation Inspection: Check Your Sprinkler Heads
Your sprinkler heads work hard out there.
They can get knocked out of alignment by mowers or heavy foot traffic.
Take a peek. Run each zone in your system for a couple of minutes to make sure everything’s working well.
- Are sprinkler heads hitting all areas of your lawn?
- Are they only hitting the lawn, or are they spraying areas they shouldn’t, like your sidewalks, driveway, or the side of your house?
- Make sure all heads pop up all of the way and fully retract when the water is turned off. If they don’t go down all the way, they can get hit by your lawnmower.
- Are any sprinkler heads blocked by tall grass, plants, or other obstacles? Sprinkler heads can be raised if they are too low or have settled.
- Are any heads leaking or broken? Are any spots too wet or too dry? Clean or replace any clogged nozzles.
Irrigation Troubleshooting: When You Need to Check for Leaks
Irrigation system leaks can be hidden, even sneaky.
The problem could be several different things — a cracked line, a worn-out valve diaphragm, a broken irrigation head. Also, some of your irrigation system’s components are underground, which complicates things.
Check your sprinkler valve boxes.
They should be dry. If they're wet, check them carefully for worn parts, loose wiring, or water leaking out between damaged fittings. Your problem could be here.
Turn on Your Zones, One by One
You’re looking for several clues here to find an irrigation leak:
- Water geysers. These are pretty obvious — tall spouts of water that probably mean missing or broken spray heads.
- Floods around the base of a sprinkler. An older valve might not be shutting off properly, especially if several sprinklers in the same area are leaking.
- Water spraying out between sprinkler heads. This sign of an irrigation leak could mean a broken underground line.
- Flooded areas between sprinklers. Sounds like a slow, steady leak in an underground line.
- Spurts of water at the base of a sprinkler. This could be a broken seal where the nozzle meets the supply line underground.
Check Your Sprinkler Heads
Are there any heads that don’t spray properly or have low water flow? Your leak might be in a water line somewhere between a working sprinkler head and several non-working ones, especially if that area stays wet.
Irrigation Troubleshooting is Tricky
So, there’s a lot going on out there. Are you sure you’ll catch everything?
How often will you get out there to check things over? Be honest. Hmmmm, never?
When you hire an irrigation company to do your irrigation inspections, they’ll show up regularly and discover anything that’s gone wrong.
Meanwhile, maybe you mowed over a sprinkler head and didn’t realize it — and water has been pouring out of it. Maybe for months.
Regular visits also include adjustments that keep you from wasting water.
Technicians will adjust sprinkler heads that are spraying where they shouldn’t, or spraying out too much water.
They’ll look everything over and spot potential problems before your system breaks down and your grass dies.
Then, rest easy. Don’t you have better things to do?
Trust Your Central Florida Irrigation Inspections to Ground Source
Sure, you can spend a Saturday staring at your sprinkler heads, scratching your head over your controller wires, and fiddling with valve boxes.
But why? Let us do what we do best. Go back to daydreaming about magical lawn elves.
We’re irrigation experts in Central Florida, but our skills don’t stop there. We’re with you every step of the way as you plan your perfect outdoor space.
Irrigation, sod, landscape design: Let us transform your yard from an embarrassing eyesore to a place you spend every spare minute.
Are you ready to enjoy the vibrant, impressive yard you've always wanted? Request a quote today! We’ll help you review your options and then transform your property.
