Q & A

COMMON QUESTIONS
When should I turn on my sprinkler system?
When should I turn off my sprinkler system?
When is the best time of day to water my lawn?
Will over-watering damage my lawn?
What happens if my lawn doesn’t get enough water?
How much water does my lawn require?
Should I adjust my watering time throughout the year?
Should my sprinkler system need a tune up?
What is a rain sensor and is it helpful?
Will the installation and maintenance of a sprinkler system damage my lawn?
I’m having landscaping or construction done, what should I do?

TROUBLESHOOTING QUICK GUIDE
Water Does Not Turn Off?
Turning Off Your Controller?
Turning Off The System At The Water Source?
Constant Wet Area?
Controller?

Spring turn on is scheduled by appointment only. Please contact us as early as March so we can make arrangements for our skilled technicians to come to your home. They will change your clock battery, go through your system zone by zone and make any necessary repairs needed. Our technicians will clean around all lawn heads due to lawn winter growth, raise lawn and shrub heads to water areas properly. All timers for irrigations will be set for spring weather conditions. Please contact us for more information.

Winter shut offs are scheduled by appointment only. Please contact us as early as October so we can make arrangements for our skilled technicians to come to your home. Winterizing will provide longevity for your irrigation system. The objective of “winterizing” is the removal of the majority of water from the main line and lateral pipe. Water left in pipes, lawn, shrub heads, solenoid valves and main feed line from house or well may expand and cause severe damage and become costly to repair. “Winterizing” is done with compressed air. Wells, cabanas, and systems with boaster pumps require special attention for winterizing. Please contact us for more information.

Early morning (before sunrise) when water pressure is greatest, evaporation is minimal and the lawn can absorb the greatest amount of water is the best time to water your lawn. Avoid watering after sunset because water that does not evaporate may cause disease. Do not water during the hottest point of the day because the sun will evaporate the water before it can soak the lawn. To water your lawn efficiently, it requires the right amount of water, evenly distributed, at the right time. Please contact us for more information.

Many lawns are damaged from excessive watering. This causes the lawn’s nutrients to become diluted and washed away. Over-watering also allows the lawn to become weak, which creates shallow roots, causing it to become disease-prone and weed infested. As a result, the lawn will require additional applications of fertilizer. Please contact us for more information.

If the soil becomes too dry the lawn will not be able to satisfy its own needs. This will cause the lawn to become weak and susceptible to changes in color, disease and insect damage. Installation of a properly planned irrigation system is the best way to water your property. For a free estimate or more information please contact us.

The lawn requires enough water to penetrate the depth of the roots. This should be at least one inch per week. However, there are several things to consider before watering: the type of soil, the season of calendar, sun and shade exposure. There are three temperatures variables; spring, summer, and fall all requiring different settings. B & D RAIN SYSTEMS offers a summer program to help you monitor these changes. We would re-evaluate your system, adjust watering times due to climate changes, and adjust heads because of lawn/shrubs growth. For a free evaluation of your system or more information please contact us.

Yes! It is very important to understand that the needs of your lawn and plantings changes throughout the year. During the spring it is cool and may be wet, which would require less watering. During the peak of summer time it is necessary to water more. Evaporation is much higher and sun exposure is longer. In fall the weather starts to cool down, but may remain dry. Watering is still required, but not as much as the summer. These changes can most often be made by adjusting the amount of time that each zone is on, or by either increasing or decreasing the watering days each week. B & D RAIN SYSTEMS offers a spring, summer and fall program to help you monitor these changes. For more information on time clocks adjustments contact us or manufacturer’s website.

Lawn sprinklers work hard and require maintenance. Shrubs grow and will block spray pattern, which can cause puddling and create damage to shrubs. Shrub beds expand over time and develop a canopy over lawn heads, which deflects spray pattern and causes puddling in that area. All of these changes can happen suddenly with one year of growth. Having a lawn sprinkler system is not a luxury anymore but a necessity, leaving you with time for yourself and others. Let us help you with all your needs to water your property and take away that head ache. B & D RAIN SYSTEMS skilled technicians would re-evaluate each zone and provide the most efficient way for your irrigation system to water your property. Please contact us for more information.

A rain sensor is a small device that will turn the sprinkler system off in the event of a major rainfall. It is most often installed on the outside of a rain gutter or in some other unobstructed place. Yes! It is helpful. The sensor itself is set to turn off when a certain level of water is absorbed. This will prevent the lawn sprinklers from turning on, which doesn’t allow over watering. Once dry, the sensor automatically resets without ever affecting your controller. There’s no better way to save money and ensure that a system isn’t watering when it isn’t necessary. Please contact us for more information.

Installation and maintenance of an in ground irrigation system will not permanently damage your lawn. All installations are performed with a professional crew who operate a machine that inserts the pipe into the ground without creating a large trench in your lawn. Our skilled technicians take into account how important your property is. Any repairs that are performed will be properly cleaned afterwards. B & D RAIN SYSTEMS is committed to leaving your lawn looking as beautiful as we found it. Please contact us for more information.

If you are adding, changing your landscaping, putting on an extension, driveway, or installing a new pool it is important to contact us. Doing any one of these things you may have to adjust your sprinkler system in order keep your new lawn or planting watered properly. By contacting us right away we can assist you in making or planning your needs before it’s too late. In general we recommend that you or your contractor or landscaper contact us before any work is done. If work has already started and damage has occurred it is recommended that all irrigation lines be left exposed or marked. Please contact us for more information.

When a part of the system stays on well after it was scheduled to shut down, you know there is a problem. Sometimes the problem is an improperly set irrigation controller. In other instances, there is a mechanical failure with a control valve and the system will need to be turned off at the main water source. Please contact your lawn sprinkler company to have problem repaired.

Every type of controller, mechanical or digital, will have some type of OFF position. Some makes of controllers label the OFF position as RAIN OFF or simply RAIN. If turning off the controller fails to shut the system down, you must go to the main water source for the irrigation system. Please contact your lawn sprinkler company to have problem repaired.

Every sprinkler system, if properly installed according to local codes should have a separate cut off the irrigation system. There may be a lever type handle or gate valve type handles (something like large faucet handles). Don’t be surprised if you find the handles either broken or partially broken, they are notorious for twisting off due to corrosion. If the handles are gone, you may still be able to turn off the water with a pair of channel locks or vice grips. Once the crises are solved, you should call a professional repair technician to locate and repair the problem. Some irrigation systems shut off valves are located outside in the water meter vault below ground or a curb stop valve was used according to codes, these types will need special attention. Please contact your lawn sprinkler company ASAP!

If you have a wet spot in your lawn, first turn on your sprinkler system to if you can spot any obvious problems. Next, be sure your controller has not malfunctioned and that you are not over watering. Turn your sprinklers system off at the control panel for a couple of days to see if this corrects the problem. If the problem persists, turn off the water at the main water supply. If the leak is in your lawn sprinkler system, the area should dry within a couple of days. Please contact your lawn sprinkler company so a skilled technician can repair the leak.