A sprinkler system is a significant investment in your lawn and landscape. Like any investment, it delivers the best return when properly maintained. Spartan Irrigation works with homeowners throughout the area, keeping irrigation systems running efficiently through every season, and these best practices are the ones that make the biggest difference in system performance and longevity.
Start the Season With a Professional Startup
After a Michigan winter, a proper spring startup is essential before running the system under pressure. Each zone should be tested and observed individually. Sprinkler heads that have shifted, been damaged by equipment, or become partially clogged need to be identified and corrected before the season begins in earnest. Pressure should be checked at startup to confirm the system is operating within its designed range.
Adjust Your Schedule as the Season Changes
Many homeowners set their irrigation controller in spring and do not touch it again until fall. This approach leads to overwatering in the cooler, wetter weeks of May and June and underwatering during the hot, dry stretches of July and August. Controllers with smart or weather-based scheduling solve this problem automatically. Manual scheduling should be reviewed and adjusted at least monthly to reflect current conditions.
Inspect Heads and Drip Emitters Regularly
Sprinkler heads take a beating over a growing season. Lawn mowers clip them. Vehicle traffic shifts them. They become clogged with debris and grass clippings. A head that is not functioning properly leaves dry spots in its zone, and those spots are often blamed on other causes before the irrigation issue is identified. Walk each zone at least once while it is running during the season to verify that every head is operating correctly.
Do Not Ignore Minor Leaks
A small leak at a head, a fitting, or a valve may not seem significant. Over the course of a season, even a slow leak wastes a substantial volume of water and can erode soil around the affected area. Addressing small issues promptly is almost always less expensive than repairing the larger problems they create if left unresolved.
Let Spartan Irrigation Keep Your System Running Right
Spartan Irrigation serves homeowners throughout Lansing, MI, with irrigation system installation, seasonal startup, summer maintenance, new system installation, and landscape lighting. Contact us at (517) 882-1826 and keep your irrigation system performing at its best all season long.