How To Clean Patio Mister Nozzles

How to Maintain Your Misting System

misting system cooling down a patio in the evening

General Maintenance

Maintaining a misting system only needs your attention in 2 or 3 ways:

cleaning nozzles,
occasionally checking for leaks,
and maintaining the pump (if your system uses one).

1. Cleaning nozzles
Rust and minerals will build up in the plumbing of your misting system and restrict the flow of water, even if your pump uses a filter. So you will occasionally need to clean the nozzles. Simply remove them (this can be done by hand) and soak them in any solution that will dissolve the rust and minerals, then rinse. Replace them and run the system briefly to remove any deposits left in the nozzles.

2. Checking for leaks
If you notice water pooling or running off near your system, you may have a leak. The first thing to do if you suspect a leak is to clean the nozzles. If this does not solve the problem, you will need to inspect the rest of the system for leaks, especially the lines and fittings. If you do locate a leak, you will need to mend or replace the leaking part, available in the plumbing section of most hardware stores or from your misting system supplier.

3. Maintaining the pump
(If you have a low pressure system, you get to skip this part.) The heart of a misting system, the pump itself, can last for many years as long as it is taken care of. Basic pump maintenance involves changing its oil and filter cartridge from time to time. Your supplier will give you a maintenance manual when you purchase the pump. It will tell you exactly how and when to do these tasks. After you've done them once you will likely be very comfortable doing them again.

A typical oil change is just a matter of unscrewing the oil bolt at the bottom of the pump, letting the old oil drain, then filling the pump with an oil designed to work with your specific pump. Oil changes are typically required after the first 50 hours or so of use and then about every 500 hours after that.

To change your filter, unscrew the filter housing, pull out the old filter cartridge and replace it with a new one. The number of filter changes in the equipment depends upon the water quality being introduced into the misting pump. Regardless of water conditions, filter cartridges should be changed a minimum of once per year or cooling season. Supplemental water conditioning is available for areas of very hard water to reduce nozzle failures.

Some pumps will need additional maintenance. For example, their seals may need to be inspected and replaced, if necessary. Seal monitors are a pump feature that can help you keep track of the seals' condition. Other pump features, like valves, switches, and regulators also need to be checked regularly and either cleaned or replaced.

Storage

Some systems are designed to need no maintenance. They can simply be disconnected and covered for the winter. Most should have some minimal precautions taken when storing them for extended periods of time, such as through the winter, especially if there is a risk of freezing temperatures.

This generally involves three basic steps:

Remove all nozzles.
Drain all water from the pump, line and filters. Purge the system with air or flush with an antifreeze solution (if you live where freezing might happen) to prevent standing water from freezing and damaging the pump and lines. Never turn on the pump with frozen water in it.
Change the pump's oil for prolonged storing to protect the motor's components

Interested in learning even more?

To learn more about other outdoor cooling solutions that use evaporation, see our page on evaporative coolers.
To compare misting systems with other outdoor cooling solutions, visit our
comparison page.

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