This is the best way to keep your lawn looking fresh and green. Correctly designed and programmed, it’ll deliver the right amount of water to your yard— no more moving the sprinkler! But like any other sprinklers system, it occasionally breaks down or requires maintenance.

The good news is you can handle 90 percent of the sprinkler repairs yourself, even without in-depth knowledge of the system. We’ll show you how to identify and fix the most common problems. Calling in a professional could cost at least $100, even for a simple problem you can fix yourself in 10 minutes.

Don’t be intimidated by the prospect of working on a sprinklers system that involves both plumbing and electricity. The pipes are plastic and much simpler to repair than the plumbing in your house. The electrical lines are low voltage, so they’re not hazardous. You don’t need special skills to make the repairs, but you’ll need a multimeter to diagnose electrical problems for sprinkler repairs.