Irrigation & Exterior Water

Day to day, irrigation should run itself. The two things you’ll actually touch are the Rachio app (to check on it or override it) and, a couple of times a year, a hose bib.

1. Open the Rachio app (iOS/Android) or rachio.com — you don’t need to be standing at the controller for anything.
2. The Home tab shows what’s scheduled next and whether a skip is in effect (rain/wind/freeze).
3. To run a zone right now (e.g. to check a head, or water a spot that looks dry), use Quick Run: pick the zone(s), set a duration, and go.
4. To change how often things water, edit the schedule for a zone or group of zones rather than fighting the controller manually every week.

The vegetable garden, fruit trees, and berry bushes are largely on that drip zone rather than an uncontrolled watering-can rhythm, but it's still worth checking soil moisture by hand rather than assuming the schedule alone is enough — especially for containers and raised beds, which dry out faster than lawn. A full planting map (what’s in which bed, sun/water needs) is to gather; a dedicated landscaping page may follow later, but isn’t part of this page.

Everything lives in the Rachio app and at rachio.com, tied to a Rachio account (email + password) — there’s no meaningful way to operate this system as a “dumb” controller from the front panel; the app is the point.

1. Buyer creates a Rachio account (free) in the app.
2. If the seller has already removed the controller from their account: put the controller in setup mode and add it to your new account like a new device.
3. If it still shows as owned by the seller: contact Rachio support (see Documents) with proof of the property purchase and ask them to release/transfer the device.
4. Re-enter the home WiFi credentials during setup (from the credentials sheet).

The WiFi password (to reconnect the controller) and, if applicable, the seller’s prior Rachio account emailSealed credentials sheet · handed over at closing

Fall winterization

• Rachio recommends having the system professionally blown out with compressed air — this is the standard PNW irrigation-company service (typically 60 PSI through the mainline with each zone opened in turn) and needs equipment most homeowners don’t have.
• If doing it yourself: shut off the irrigation water supply at the source — the isolation ball valve above the backflow assembly in the left valve box (photo above) — then use the Rachio app to run each zone in sequence while compressed air clears the lines — repeating a few passes per zone until no more water sprays from the heads.
• Rachio controllers have a built-in Freeze Skip that pauses watering below a set temperature threshold year-round, but that is not a substitute for winterizing — it just stops the controller from starting a cycle in a freeze; it does not drain the lines.
• Backflow preventer: this assembly is below grade in its own valve box, not on an exposed above-ground riser, which gives it some inherent freeze protection — but an open box lid still exposes it to cold air pooling inside. Draining it as part of the blow-out is still required; consider whether the box benefits from foam insulation or a floating cover for extra protection in a hard freeze.

Spring startup

• Turn the irrigation water supply back on slowly.
• Run each zone with Quick Run and walk the yard, checking every head for clogs, broken risers, or misalignment from winter freeze/thaw and any yard work.
• Re-enable any schedule that was paused for winter and confirm Weather Intelligence skip settings are as you want them for the growing season.

Backflow preventer testing — annual, and required by law here

Washington State requires backflow prevention assemblies to be tested annually by a WA-certified backflow assembly tester (WAC 246-290-490). The City of Ridgefield's own code requires the same — annual testing under Ridgefield Municipal Code §13.55, with the Public Works Department sending a courtesy reminder letter roughly 45 days before the test is due each year (its notification cycle runs April–September). Confirm this house's water provider (City of Ridgefield vs. another purveyor) and whether a backflow assembly is already registered with them — see Documents for the official sources.

• Sprinkler heads: once or twice a season, walk the yard during a Quick Run and check for heads that are sunken, tilted, clogged, or spraying the driveway/siding instead of the lawn — clean or straighten as needed.
• Drip zone emitters: the drip zone (raised beds, north-fence bed, east fence, south bar area) has more individual emitters and fittings than a spray zone, so it's worth a slower seasonal walk — check for a clogged, popped-off, or leaking emitter at each plant, and for tubing damaged by weeding, mulching, or freeze/thaw.
• Hose bibs: before the first freeze, disconnect hoses (a hose left attached traps water in the bib and defeats frost-proof designs), and if any bib is not a frost-proof/freeze-proof type, shut off its interior supply valve and drain it for winter.

• A zone won’t run: confirm the controller itself is online first (see below) — if it is, check that the main irrigation water supply and any backflow-preventer shutoff valves are fully open, then check that zone’s wiring at the controller against the others (Rachio’s app flags a “zone fault” when it detects an electrical short or open circuit on a zone’s wire).
• Controller shows offline in the app: power-cycle it — the controller is in the garage near the EV charger; unplug its transformer at the receptacle, wait, plug back in. Confirm the home WiFi is on the 2.4 GHz band — Rachio controllers generally don’t support 5 GHz-only networks. If the whole house network is down, fix that first (see the Network page).
• App says a zone is running but no water comes out: that’s consistent with the water supply or backflow shutoff being closed, a solenoid valve failure, or a wiring fault rather than a controller problem — Rachio’s official “Zone Not Activating” guidance walks through isolating which of those it is.
• Low pressure or weak spray at some heads: often a clogged nozzle/filter or a partially closed backflow/isolation valve rather than the controller; check the valve is fully open before assuming a head is bad.

• Rachio — support home
  All current-model guides and troubleshooting.
• Rachio Generation 2 controller — quick start guide (PDF)
  Rachio's own support-media S3 bucket, linked from support.rachio.com — "Generation 2" repeated throughout. Likely match; generation not confirmed via the back label.
• Rachio — App Quick Start Guide
  Basic setup and everyday app use.
• Rachio — Transfer ownership of a controller to your account
  The day-one account handover for a new owner.
• Rachio — Winter Preparation and Spring Startup Guide
  Official fall winterization / spring startup guidance.
• Rachio — Weather Intelligence
  How Rain/Wind/Freeze Skip and Seasonal Shift work.
• Rachio — How do I turn on one zone?
  Manual/Quick Run of a single zone.
• Rachio — Zone Not Activating
  Official troubleshooting when a zone shows running but no water flows.
• City of Ridgefield — Backflow & Cross Connection
  Local backflow program overview.
• City of Ridgefield — Backflow FAQs (testing schedule & compliance)
  Annual testing requirement, ~45-day reminder-letter cycle, and the governing code (RMC 13.55, WAC 246-290-490).
• Washington State DOH — Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention
  State-level regulation (WAC 246-290-490) requiring certified annual testing.