Keeping your sprinkler system working in tip-top shape is of utmost importance to maintaining a clean, green lawn. If you’re noticing brown spots on your lawn or a bigger-than-usual water bill, your sprinkler system may require repairs.
If you’re not sure about whether or not your sprinklers need any repairs, worry not. In this article, we’ve compiled some of the warning signs that you need to watch out for, as well as some of the common underlying issues that your sprinkler system might be experiencing.
Signs That Your Sprinkler System Needs Repairs
For most sprinkler systems, there are no alarms or notifications when something wears out or gets worn down. You’ll need to keep a sharp eye out for signs that your sprinklers are failing. Fortunately, these signs are fairly easy to spot if you know what to look for.
- Uneven water coverage: Look around your lawn for patches of underwatered or overwatered grass. This is the most obvious sign of a problem with your sprinkler system and can be caused by a lot of different underlying problems.
- Weak water pressure: If your sprinklers are well distributed, but don’t seem to be watering their whole zones, there could be a leak somewhere in your system or an issue with one of your control valves.
- Sprinkler head sputtering: Check to see if your sprinklers are sputtering instead of jetting out a steady stream of water. This could mean that there’s debris clogging up your sprinkler heads, physical damage or wear on your sprinkler heads, or a problem with pop-up sprinklers moving out of their correct positions.
- Unusually high water bill: If your water bill is higher than usual in a given month, check the inside of your house to see if something else in your plumbing system is leaking. If you’ve made sure that the problem isn’t coming from somewhere else, then the leak could be originating from your sprinkler system.
- Dripping or leaking control valve: Control valves deliver water pressure to each sprinkler head. Check around your sprinkler heads for puddles of water, bubbling, mold, or grass and dirt that can impair the function of your control valves.
- Abnormal sprinkler behavior: Observe your sprinklers for any other unusual behaviors, such as irregular streams, incorrect timing, sprinkler heads not popping up, and other problems.
If you notice any of these typical signs, call a reliable repair service like SoCal Sprinklers immediately to diagnose and fix your sprinkler problems.