Pro Handyman Blog

A handyman in Las Vegas works in pretty extreme heat. If you are planting your landscape, your plants can struggle with just one missed day of watering. When you are laying out your landscape irrigation, it’s a good idea to install 2 drip emitters per plant rather than just one. The reason is simple, emitters get clogged and not deliver water to the plant. In the summer heat the plant will die.

From the main drip line, which is usually either ½” or ¾”, you will run a microtube from it to the individual plants. Instead of installing a drip emitter on the end of this line, install a “T” fitting and run 2 separate drip lines, each with its own drip emitter, to the plant. If you would normally install a 2 gallon per hour emitter on one line, instead install a separate 1 gallon per hour emitter on each line. In this way, the plant’s watering needs will still be met, although from 2 separate emitters instead of one.

The benefit here is that if one of the drip emitters gets clogged, the plant will still receive some water to survive. When you notice the plant struggling, you determine which one of the emitters needs to be cleaned out so that the plant gets the necessary water.