Top 3 Most Overlooked Tasks
to Tackle Now

to Save Water and Improve Your Home and Garden

We’ve made a list of our top three most overlooked tasks with the super potential to save water, improve your home and garden and, ultimately, make your life easier once things ramp up again.

1: Fix Household Leaks

It’s easy for the task of tackling household leaks to slip to the bottom of the household chore list, especially if the leak isn’t causing any immediate damage. Now’s a good time to lift it up to the top of the list and to fix that leaky faucet, showerhead or toilet. We’ve noted some handy tips for finding household leaks and links to videos that show you how to fix them here.

Tips:

  • Materials and tools for fixing leaks (such as faucet washers and toilet flappers) are usually available at local hardware and home improvement stores, many of which are offering curbside pick-up if you order online or by phone.
  • If you find you need to replace a leaky fixture with a new one, be sure to look for WaterSense-labeled products, which are certified to be water efficient without compromising performance. These are available online or at home improvement stores (see note above about curbside pick-up).
  • And, when in doubt, be sure to consult a professional plumber–considered “essential” during this time and open for business.

2: Get to Know Your Sprinkler Controller

Sprinkler controllers over the past several years have really gone high-tech. It used to be that controllers cycled on and off according to a pre-set schedule and clock. Now, they can run your sprinklers according to the weather or can connect with your smart phone.

Controllers often have fancy features that can make your life easier and your garden healthier—if only you know how to make them work.

While spending time at home, find a comfortable reading chair and crack open the stiff spine of your controller owner’s manual. Get to know all of your controller’s features and make sure they are in full use. Check to see that your controller is programmed accurately, according to your yard’s current conditions and features. Learn to use special features like Seasonal Adjust, which makes it easier to change your watering schedule without having to re-program the entire controller.

And, for bragging rights, we dare you to learn your controller’s advanced (or even hidden) features.

Tips:

  • If you can’t find your controller owner’s manual at home, you can often find it online with a Google search.
  • If you have a traditional timer (non-weather based), you can create your own custom watering schedule according to the weather and your yard’s unique conditions with the Sacramento Region Smart Irrigation Scheduler, which you can find here.
  • Consider upgrading your controller to “smart” weather-based model. There’s a new regional instant rebate program available to help offset costs. Learn more.

3: Tune Up Your Sprinklers

Before we know it, brighter days will soon be here in more ways than one. You can get your sprinklers ready for the spring and summer watering season with a tune up. Here’s what to do in five steps:

  1. Turn on your sprinkler system one water zone (valve) at a time, and walk each zone looking for problems.
  2. Check for adequate water pressure. Pressure may be too high if you see “misting” (water that sprays into the air and drifts away) or if pop-up sprinklers don’t rise all the way. Pressure may be too low if you see water dribbling (instead of spraying) from sprinklers.
  3. Look for issues such as:
    • Sprinklers that water the sidewalks, street, fence, and any other area that shouldn’t be watered.
    • “Geysers” — water shooting out of a broken sprinkler head.
    • Water running off the lawn or planting bed and onto the pavement.
    • Clogged spray nozzles with little or no water exiting sprinkler heads.
  1. Turn off water to the problem area and make repairs.
    • Adjust misdirected and tilted sprinklers to water the lawn and not the sidewalk.
    • Repair or replace damaged sprinkler heads and nozzles.
    • Stop runoff by dividing your watering cycle into multiple shorter periods to allow better absorption.
    • Clear out clogs in spray nozzles.

5. Schedule your sprinkler timer according to the weather and your water provider’s guidelines.

Tips:

    • We have created a Sprinkler Symptom Solver to help you diagnose and fix issues. You can find it here.
    • Sprinkler and irrigation parts can often be ordered online for curbside pickup at nurseries such as Green Acres Nursery and Supply and many home improvement stores.
    • And, when in doubt, be sure to consult an irrigation or plumbing professional–considered “essential” during this time and open for business.