Irrigation maintenance doesn't have to be overly complicated – often times, basics like ensuring your customers aren't overwatering will save a lot of time and money.
Just ask Tony Dilluvio. He's been a co-owner at Aqua Turf Irrigation Systems since 2003, designing or overseeing every project that comes the company's way. He says one of the easiest fixes – but most overlooked – in maintaining an irrigation system is ensuring your clients aren’t overwatering. If they call and say their systems aren’t working properly, what could be happening is that they’ve set it to a schedule and assumed their plants would get the right amount of water that way.
He recommends telling clients to start with a bit of water and increase the frequency only after plants show some stress. Controllers can also be set to adjust watering times like a bell curve. Start watering in April, then continue to up the amount until the middle of July. After that point, it’s time to decrease frequency through the end of fall.
He also says rain sensors are valuable tools to prevent overwatering, though many clients just don’t use them correctly. “Most of the time, it’s not put in a good place,” Dilluvio says. “It needs to be exposed to the rain from all directions and to the sun and the wind so that it can mimic what’s going on in the environment.”
WiFi controllers that are set up for predictive watering also help, too, so that they will shut the irrigation system off if there’s rain in the forecast.