Hi Blake here with Fieldstone Homes….
Today we are going over maintenance tips for your irrigation system. With the heat of summer you want to make sure all your sprinklers and valves are working properly and that your control timer is set appropriately for the months of the summer.
Cleaning Irrigation Sprinklers
You want to go through and turn on all the irrigation and make sure that all the sprinkler heads are working properly. If you come across a sprinkler head that is not spraying water correctly you don’t necessarily have to change out the sprinkler when the water is on. All you need is a needle-nose pliers to grab the top of the sprinkler head, pull it up, and unscrew the top of the sprinkler head. You then can take out the filter which comes off the top. The filter is used to collect debris in the water system. When that filter collects with debris is decreases the amount of water that sprays out of the sprinkler. You simply need to wash out the filter and put it back together. Just make sure that it will spray in the direction of the grass or planter. Test out the sprinkler by turning on the valve to confirm it has been cleaned.
Testing Irrigation Valves
The first thing to do is locate the valves for your irrigation system. The irrigation valves are where the water actually flows through when the control timer is turned on and off. The valves will be located on one side of your home and can be turned on manually for testing purposes. With no valves turned on, make sure you see hear or see any water leaking from the top or bottom of the valves. If you hear water running, debris is caught up in the valve and needs to be repaired. The next step would be to turn on the valves and make sure there is no water bubbling in the ground. This would tell you if you have any broken pipes.
Fieldstone Homes builds new homes in Southern California.
