If your lawn is looking patchy this summer even though you're running the sprinklers more, you're not alone — and you're probably not watering wrong, you're just watering inefficiently. In Spokane's heat, a few small adjustments to how and when your system runs can mean a greener lawn and a lower water bill, without adding a single extra minute to your run time.
Here's where most systems lose efficiency, and what to do about it.
Water Early, Not Often
Running your sprinklers between 4 AM and 8 AM gives water time to soak in before the sun and wind can evaporate it. Watering in the afternoon heat can lose a big chunk of that water before it ever reaches the roots, and watering at night leaves grass damp for hours, which invites fungus and disease. Early morning is the sweet spot.
It's also better to water deeply a few times a week than lightly every day. Frequent shallow watering trains roots to stay near the surface, which makes your lawn more vulnerable when temperatures spike.
Check for Head-to-Head Coverage
"Head-to-head coverage" means each sprinkler's spray pattern reaches the next head, so there are no dry gaps or soggy overlaps. Over time, heads shift, get knocked out of alignment by mowers, or get blocked by growing plants. The result is uneven watering — parts of the lawn are dying of thirst while others are getting flooded.
Systems built around pressure-regulated spray bodies and MP Rotator nozzles are designed to deliver water more evenly and with less runoff than standard fixed sprays, but even the best equipment needs the occasional adjustment to keep coverage where it belongs.
Let Your Controller Do the Thinking
A lot of water waste comes down to controllers stuck on a set-it-and-forget-it schedule from months ago. Smart controllers can adjust watering automatically based on real weather data, cutting back on rainy or cooler days and running longer during a heat wave — no manual reprogramming required. If your system still runs on a fixed timer, this is one of the easiest upgrades to make before the hottest part of summer hits.
Watch for the Usual Suspects
A few small problems can quietly waste a lot of water:
- Leaks and broken heads — a cracked head or leaking valve can run for weeks before anyone notices
- Clogged or misaligned nozzles — these create dry spots even when the system is running fine everywhere else
- Overspray onto sidewalks and driveways — wasted water and a bigger bill, with nothing to show for it
Walking your yard during a watering cycle once a month is the easiest way to catch these before they turn into a bigger repair.
When to Call a Pro
If it's been a while since your system had a real look — checking pressure, checking coverage, inspecting or testing the backflow preventer and wiring — a seasonal irrigation check can usually pay for itself in water savings alone. It's a lot cheaper to fix a stuck valve in July than to replace a dead section of lawn in August.
Ready for a more efficient system? Give Marko's Sprinklers a call for a summer irrigation check — we'll walk your system, spot the waste, and get your lawn running on less water and less guesswork.