Joyful rain!
Running around doing maintenance and inspecting new sites for potential in the rain is a gift! It’s great to see how water flows in reality and adjust your observations real time! Go outside and check to see how your gutters are working. Locate downspouts to see if there are any problem areas to address. Notice how water flows on your property naturally and if you turn it into a resource!
This setup has been in place for many years. Without this inspection, we wouldn’t have known that the downspout was leaking from the end. We might check to see if the gutter is full of leaves. If this clears the problem, great! But it also looks like the end of the gutter is sagging, so it may need to be repaired.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to clean your filters. This first rain has pushed debris from your roof onto your leaf filters. And your first flush probably has a good collection of sediment that has been sitting there since our last rain in May. You want to maintain a clean tank so that the water you use is of the highest quality, so it’s important to check your leaf filter and first flush and clean them out if necessary.
Your first step, is visually inspect your leaf filter. If there is even a small amount of debris on it, you can easily pop the plastic frame holding the screen off the filter box and wash it out with a hose.
This is a great example of what mean leaf filters look like after this first rain. Through the autumn it may get worse.
Next you want to make sure your first flush is empty. If it just has a hose draining it, likely it has self-drained. If there is a shutoff valve or spigot, open these up to let the water drain out.
You will need to unscrew the 3″ cap at the bottom of the filter set. Depending on who installed your system and when, this may look different than the one below. Essentially the idea is the same. Once you open up the cap, rinse it out and clear any debris from your first flush. You may need large channel lock pliers to unscrew the cap, or someone with good grip strength. Finally, carefully reassemble the filter. If teflon tape was previously used on the threads, you may need to reapply.
Did anyone notice how quickly their “barrels” filled? It may be time to consider getting a tank! Many H2OME customers have replaced their 55 gallon barrels with 500, 1000, and bigger tanks only to still be impressed at how quickly they fill! It’s very satisfying to have this much water around when the rains are gone to continue to water your plants! This is a great example of how a 55 gallon barrel was easily replaced with a 500 gallon tank! Contact us here if you want us to come perform your annual maintenance.
