Irrigation Maintenance in Newark

Your irrigation system works hard to keep your lawn green, but it only works if you maintain it. Regular maintenance catches problems early, saves water, and prevents expensive repairs down the line. Here's what you need to know about keeping your Newark irrigation system in top shape.

Check for Leaks Throughout the System

Leaks waste water and money, often without you noticing. Walk your yard during a watering cycle and look for soggy spots, water spraying where it shouldn't, or puddles that form even when the ground should be absorbing water. Leaks commonly develop at valve connections, where lines meet sprinkler heads, and underground where roots can puncture the lines.

Pay special attention to areas where your irrigation lines run under driveways or near trees. Underground leaks are harder to spot but show up as unusually wet patches or areas where grass grows differently than the rest of your lawn. If you suspect a leak underground, call a professional to locate and repair it—trying to dig blindly can damage more lines.

Check the main shut-off valve and all connection points by hand. Tighten any loose fittings gently with a wrench, but don't over-tighten, which can crack the connectors. If water drips from a valve even after tightening, the valve likely needs replacement.

Inspect and Clean Sprinkler Heads

Sprinkler heads get clogged with dirt and debris, causing them to spray unevenly or miss parts of your lawn. During the growing season, check each head every two weeks. Dig around the head gently with a spade to expose it, then turn on the water to watch how it sprays.

A healthy sprinkler head throws water in a predictable pattern without weak spots. If you see one sputtering, spraying only partially, or not reaching as far as it should, it needs cleaning. Unscrew the head from its riser, soak it in clean water for a few minutes, and gently rinse away debris. Use a small brush if needed, but don't force anything or you'll damage the internal spray mechanism.

While the head is off, check the riser—the short pipe it mounts to—for cracks or damage. A broken riser wastes water and should be replaced. Make sure the head screws back on tight so it doesn't wobble, which causes uneven watering.

Adjust Head Coverage

Many sprinkler heads let you adjust how far and in what direction they spray. If part of your lawn isn't getting enough water, try adjusting the arc or distance before assuming the head is broken. Some heads have a small screw on top; others have an adjustment collar at the base. Your head's manual will show you how, or a professional can help.

Fix Dry Spots and Over-watered Areas

Even with clean sprinkler heads, some areas of your lawn may be too wet while others dry out. This usually means head placement isn't ideal for your yard's shape, or one or more heads have drifted and no longer point the right way.

Walk your whole lawn during watering to map wet and dry spots. Heads sometimes get knocked off-target by foot traffic, mowers, or settling soil. If a head is pointing the wrong direction, loosen its connection to the riser and rotate it into place. Tighten it firmly when it's right.

If you have dry spots that can't be fixed by adjusting existing heads, you may need to add a new sprinkler head or split one zone to create better coverage. A landscape professional can advise on the best solution for your yard's layout.

Adjust Watering Schedules for the Season

Your irrigation system should water less often in spring and fall, and more in summer heat. Most controller timers let you set different schedules for different seasons. In early spring, when soil is wet from snowmelt and rainfall is frequent, water only once or twice a week. As temperatures climb in June and July, increase to three or four times weekly or even daily if it doesn't rain.

Summer watering should happen early in the morning, before 8 a.m., to reduce evaporation and disease. Evening watering can promote fungal problems because grass stays wet overnight. In fall, as temperatures drop and rain becomes more common, scale back again. Most yards need little or no supplemental watering once temperatures stay below 60 degrees.

Check your schedule after heavy rain. Many modern controllers have rain sensors that skip a watering cycle if it rains, but not all do. Manually skip a cycle if you've had a inch or more of rain in a week; over-watering leads to weak, disease-prone grass.

Prepare for Seasonal Changes

Fall and spring transitions are critical maintenance windows. In late fall, before the first hard freeze, drain your system completely. Water left in above-ground lines and low points will freeze, expand, and crack the pipes, leaving you with expensive repairs come spring.

To drain the system, turn off the controller and water supply. Open all low-point drain valves—usually located at the ends of lines—and let gravity empty the system. If your system has a pump or runs on an elevation where gravity won't drain it fully, you may need professional help with compressed air to blow out the lines.

In spring, turn the system on slowly and check everything before relying on it for full lawn watering. Inspect for freeze damage, test each zone, and adjust the schedule as growth speeds up. Winter weather can shift soil and frost-heave sprinkler heads; recheck their positioning and coverage.

Monitor Water Pressure

Water pressure that's too high damages lines and seals; pressure that's too low means weak spray and incomplete watering. Most residential systems run best at 40 to 60 pounds per square inch (PSI). You can buy an inexpensive pressure gauge at a hardware store and screw it onto an outdoor faucet to check your system's pressure.

High pressure often comes from the municipal water supply, especially in hilly areas. A pressure regulator installed near your main shut-off valve protects your system and saves water. Low pressure usually points to a leak in the line between the supply and your sprinklers, or a clogged filter in the controller. Check and clean any filters at least once a season.

Test Your System Regularly

Once a month during the growing season, run the system zone by zone and walk the entire yard. Watch for changes in how each zone waters: a zone that used to cover evenly but now has dry spots may have a clogged head or a leak. Catching small problems early keeps irrigation maintenance simple.

Keep a log of what you notice—when heads were cleaned, when you adjusted a coverage pattern, when you noticed a leak. This record helps you see patterns, like a head that clogs frequently or a spot that's always wet, and it makes it easier to explain issues to a professional if you need help.

If your irrigation system is showing persistent problems—multiple leaks, widespread dry spots, or a zone that won't water evenly no matter what you adjust—call Trotter Landscape Company. They install and maintain irrigation systems for Newark properties and can diagnose and fix issues you can't solve on your own.