Irrigation for seasonal homes
Sprinkler Care for Empty Florida Homes
A sprinkler system runs on its own, which is the whole trouble. When nobody is home, a broken head or a dead timer battery can go on for months before anyone knows.
The Problem You Find Out About in October
At your full-time home, you would notice a sprinkler head shooting straight up or a zone that stopped running. You walk past it every day. At a home that sits empty for half the year, you find out from the water bill, or when you pull in the driveway to a dead patch of lawn.
This is the one part of the house that keeps working when you leave. Most of what you do to close up a home is about shutting things off. The University of Florida guide says to turn the water off at the exterior meter to prevent flooding from a burst pipe, unless that water is used for lawn irrigation. So many sprinkler systems stay live all summer, with nobody watching.
It also tells owners to replace the backup batteries in automatic watering systems before leaving. That is an easy job to forget and an easy one to get done.
A Sensible Sprinkler Plan for the Year
Here is how the work usually lines up around your time away. Jeff will tell you if your system needs something different.
Before you leave
Run each zone while someone is watching. Fix broken heads and leaks, and replace the timer battery.
While you are gone
On his every other week home check, Jeff makes sure the irrigation is working correctly and properly watering the yard. He can also change the timer when you ask and take care of repairs.
Before you come back
If you want, have Jeff run the zones again and take care of anything the summer knocked out.
What Jeff Repairs
- Sprinkler head replacement
- Leaking or cracked lines
- Timer adjustments and troubleshooting
- Zones that stopped running
- Heads buried or knocked out of line
- A full run of the system before you leave
Watering Days Change, and You Are Not Here to Change the Timer
Florida water management districts set the days you can water, and those rules can change with the season or during a drought. In May 2026, for example, a water shortage order tightened lawn watering in Lake County and nearby counties.
A timer set in April does not know any of that. Before you set a schedule, check the current rules for your address with your water management district or your local utility. Then Jeff can set the timer to match.
Jeff can also handle the rest of the yard so that the lawn and the sprinklers are looked after by the same person. If you want the bigger picture on what else to do before you leave, read our summer close-up checklist.
Signs Your System Needs a Look
If you notice any of these before you leave, or a neighbor mentions one while you are gone, it is worth a call.
- Water running across the driveway or sidewalk
- One dry patch in a lawn that is otherwise green
- A soggy spot that never seems to dry out
- A timer with a blank screen
- A water bill higher than an empty house should have
- A zone that does not come on when you test it
Sprinkler Questions From Seasonal Owners
The University of Florida guide says to turn it off at the exterior meter unless that water feeds your lawn irrigation. If your sprinklers use a separate source, ask Jeff to look at how yours is set up.
Sprinkler work is outdoors, so it usually does not need you standing there. Talk it through with Jeff when you get your free estimate.
It depends on what is broken and how big the system is. Jeff looks at it first and gives you a free estimate.
Have Your Sprinklers Looked At Before You Go
Free estimates, fair pricing and 18+ years of trade experience across Marion, Lake and Sumter counties.
Where this information comes from