3 Sprinkler Inspection Tips To Keep in Mind For Homeowners

Sprinkler inspections are a vital part of maintaining a healthy lawn and irrigation system, conserving water, and avoiding costly repairs in the future. They can help you identify leaks, ensure your system is working properly, and detect small issues before they snowball into bigger ones. But how can you tell if a sprinkler needs to be fixed? What important things should you keep in mind? You’ll learn the nuances of a simple sprinkler inspection by reading this helpful article. Let’s dive into it!

Make Sure to Check for Leaks, Clogs, and Broken Heads

What Do They Look Like?

A good sprinkler inspection always starts with identifying the most visible and common problems, and that often means checking the sprinkler heads. These are the parts that take the brunt of everyday wear and tear, and they can get knocked out of alignment or broken altogether without you noticing. If you’ve been seeing puddles in your yard, soggy patches of grass, or even sections that are completely dry, there’s a good chance something’s wrong. You might also spot water bubbling up from the ground when the system isn’t running, which is another clear sign of a leak. If your spray nozzles aren’t distributing water the way they used to, it could be due to clogs or damage to the head itself.
Sprinkler heads can be easy to miss when you’re not paying close attention. Sometimes, they’re stuck in the ground or tilted to the side, causing water to shoot off in odd directions. And while a minor spray issue might not seem like a big deal, it can quickly escalate into overwatering some areas while starving others. That imbalance can damage your lawn and waste a lot of water without you even realizing it. Regular sprinkler inspections help catch these subtle problems before they grow into something worse, and they’re the first step toward keeping your irrigation system efficient.

How Do You Fix Them?

Fixing broken sprinkler heads or dealing with leaks doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Once you’ve identified the issue, start by turning off the irrigation system to avoid accidental flooding while you work. If the spray nozzles are clogged with dirt or grass, remove them carefully and rinse them with water. Sometimes, a small wire or even a toothbrush can help get the debris out. If the head is cracked or spraying unevenly, it’s probably time to replace it with a new one. This ensures that each sprinkler is working as it should and gives you consistent water coverage.
If you find that the damage is below the surface, like a leak in the pipe or a buried fitting that’s cracked, you may need to dig down a little. Carefully remove the soil around the damaged area and check the pipe connection. If it’s a small leak, a coupler or a repair fitting can often solve the issue. But if the leak is large or you’re unsure where it’s coming from, calling in a professional can save you a lot of time and trouble. Either way, making these repairs early on during your sprinkler inspection will help you maintain even water distribution and avoid wasted resources.

Try to Test Coverage and Adjust Spray Patterns

Ensure Your Water is Being Evenly Distributed

Testing your system’s coverage during a sprinkler inspection is key if you want your lawn to look great and grow evenly. Sometimes your grass might be yellowing in one area and thriving in another, and it’s not due to the sun or soil. More often than not, it’s a water distribution problem caused by sprinkler heads not doing their job properly. When the water isn’t evenly spread, some areas end up soaked while others barely get touched. This imbalance can also lead to water runoff, which is wasteful and potentially damaging to your landscaping. To figure out if your sprinkler heads and spray nozzles are delivering balanced coverage, turn on your system one zone at a time. Walk around and watch how the water is being sprayed. If you see some areas getting hit more than others or find water collecting in spots, that’s a clear sign something needs to be adjusted. One small hack you can use to test this is by placing small containers like tuna cans around the yard. After running your system for about 15 minutes, check the water levels in each container. If the amount of water in each can is uneven, then you know your system isn’t distributing water effectively.

How To Adjust Spray Patterns

Once you’ve identified uneven watering during your sprinkler inspection, adjusting your spray nozzles can help improve performance without replacing any major components. Most sprinkler heads have a small screw on the top that lets you fine-tune the direction and distance of the spray. Turning the screw slightly can make a big difference in how far the water reaches or how tightly it sprays. You should also check that each head is standing straight up and not leaning or sunken into the soil. That can affect the arc of the water and lead to patchy watering. If certain areas are being missed entirely or receiving too much water, you might need to swap out the spray nozzles altogether for ones that are better suited to your yard’s layout. Some nozzles are built for wide coverage, while others are designed for narrow spaces or corners. It’s also helpful to consider whether your water pressure is too high or too low, as this can impact the way the sprinkler heads operate. A balanced, well-calibrated system will keep your lawn healthy and help conserve water in the long run.

Inspect Your Timer and Seasonal Settings

Why Seasonal Adjustments Are So Important

One thing many homeowners overlook during a sprinkler inspection is the controller or timer that runs their system. These settings play a big role in how effective your irrigation system is and how much water it uses. If your timer is still running on a summer schedule in the middle of fall, your lawn could be getting too much water. That excess moisture can lead to problems like fungus, root rot, and muddy spots that are hard to fix. On the other hand, if you forget to increase watering during a hot spell, your grass might turn brittle and brown. Adjusting your system for the seasons doesn’t take long, but it makes a huge difference. Most modern timers have a seasonal adjust or water budget setting that lets you tweak watering times without redoing the entire program. This helps ensure your sprinkler heads and spray nozzles are running efficiently based on the actual conditions outside. Morning is the best time to water because the ground can absorb moisture before the sun causes it to evaporate. Keeping your schedule in sync with the weather helps you get the most out of your sprinkler system while reducing waste.

Consider Upgrading to a Better Controller

If your current controller feels outdated or hard to manage, you might benefit from upgrading to a smart irrigation controller. These modern devices can automatically adjust your watering schedule based on local weather data, saving you time and reducing guesswork. Some models even allow you to control your sprinkler system from your phone via an app, giving you the flexibility to make changes without standing at the box. This means fewer mistakes, better water usage, and a lawn that stays healthy all year long. Now that’s a pretty convenient upgrade! Smart controllers also offer helpful features like leak detection, usage reports, and reminders for routine maintenance. During your next sprinkler inspection, take a moment to evaluate how well your current controller is serving your needs. If you’re constantly adjusting it or struggling to understand how it works, it might be worth the investment to switch to something more intuitive. A new controller can take the pressure off of remembering seasonal changes and help keep your sprinkler heads and spray nozzles operating at their best.

Conclusion

Now that you know how important sprinkler inspections are for your irrigation system, and for the health of your lawn, you may feel unsure if you’ll be able to fix any major problem you’ve uncovered. If the problem extends beyond a simple clogged, misaligned, or leaking sprinkler, but a more holistic issue, we at Progreen Landscape Solutions can help you! When it comes to irrigation, sprinkler repair, and annual inspections for your sprinkler system or irrigation system, we’re the most knowledgeable experts around!
We take great pride in offering our services to the homeowners of Dallas, TX, and want to make sure that everyone has a functioning irrigation system that isn’t costing them frustration and wasted money and time. Interested in what we have to offer? You can contact us today by filling in our form. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have about anything irrigation related, or book an appointment with us at your own convenience.