But...we don`t have a pool?

5/17/2020 (Permalink)

The garden and lawn is an important feature of our homes. The upkeep and maintenance can be time consuming. The need to fertilize, weed and water can take a whole day or two. One of the greatest inventions to keep our lawns and gardens maintained, especially newly planted ones, is home sprinkler systems. Basically just set the timer and it will do the job, so easy and practical. Unfortunately it adds another system that needs to be maintained, not as time consuming as maintaining lawns and gardens but the trade off is worth it. How can you tell if it needs maintenance or if there is an underground leak?

• Recent spike in the water bill. A constant leak will drive your water bill up.
• Visible wet spots in your yard. Once the ground is saturated there is nowhere but up for the water to go.
• Discolored lawn and spots in the yard. Over-saturation of grass will eventually kill it.
• Plants and lawn that look extremely dry and brittle. Uneven watering can also affect plants and areas of grass that are not receiving the water they need to thrive. The leak affects the pressure in the lines and the water will not spray as far as it needs to maintain your lawn and garden.
• Water seepage into your basement. If there is a leaking pipe close to your home, eventually the water will find a path into the basement and create damage that can go unnoticed until there is significant damage.

There are several water damages every year that SERVPRO of White Plains and New Rochelle handles caused by faulty or leaking sprinkler systems. The water leaks have been found to come through window wells, seeping through foundations and even coming in under basement doors. A majority of these water damages had finished basements with carpet, carpet pad, drywall and furniture. A majority of these items that were damaged were ruined because they had been saturated for so long they either warped or became moldy and it needed to be discarded. The average water damage costs between $2,000 to $5,000. The average cost for lawn sprinkler maintenance is $50-$120 per service call. Maintenance is significantly cheaper than not maintaining your systems.