Answering A Couple Of Important Questions About Sprinkler Systems

Posted on: 7 July 2015

Watering your lawn can be an extremely inconvenient and time intensive task to do, and it should come as no surprise that many homeowners will opt to install an automatic sprinkler system to help them better manage this aspect of homeownership. However, if this is an upgrade that you have only recently started to consider, you will likely be able to benefit from having a couple of important question answered about these irrigation systems.  

Will Installing Irrigation Systems Cause Your Water Bill To Go Up?

A common concern for many homeowners is the threat that their water bills will substantially increase following the installation of a sprinkler system. While this may seem logical, it is important to note that whether this happens will depend on a couple of important factors. One of the more important factors related to how much you are manually watering the lawn, and the other centers around the type of sprinkler system that is installed. 

It is actually possible to install a high-efficiency sprinkler system, and these systems will often use a fraction of the amount of water that other alternatives to will use. For those that are wanting the maximum water savings, a drip irrigation system may be the best option because these systems will lose the least amount of water to evaporation. 

What Is Needed To Prepare The Sprinkler System For The Winter?

The winter months can be bitterly cold temperatures, and this can present the threat of frozen pipes. While you may be familiar with the steps needed to protect your home's plumbing from this problem, you may not know how to prepare your sprinkler system for the grueling winter. However, this is essential to prevent the buried pipes or sprinkler heads from rupturing and leaking. 

Fortunately, most sprinkler systems make it relatively simple to perform this type of preventive maintenance. There is often a mode on the central control panel that will allow you to force any water in the pipes out of the sprinkler heads. In addition to this step, you will need to raise the sprinkler heads at least once every couple of weeks during the winter to prevent the soil around it from becoming impacted. If this happens, the sprinkler heads will be unable to operate until you manually remove the soil over each one. 

The installation of a sprinkler system can be one of the most effective ways of reducing the amount of time you must spend keeping your lawn alive. By understanding that these systems will not automatically make your water bill more expensive and the steps to keep them safe from winter damage, you can better understand what owning these systems will be like.

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Make Your Lawn Spectacular

Keeping your lawn looking great is about more than just competing with your neighbors about who has the best looking grass or rosebushes. A great-looking lawn helps improve your curb appeal and property values, and looking at it just makes you feel good. Personally, I don’t actually like doing landscaping work, but I do love the look of a well manicured lawn, and I know that my home’s gorgeous landscaping made a big difference the last time I sold a home, so I hire someone to do my landscaping. Whether you’re like me, or you’re an avid DIYer, this blog contains tips that will help you understand how to perfect your home’s lawn.

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