It can be said that owning an outdoor fountain is a beautiful and elegant piece that elevates your home look, but maintaining and caring for the fountain can be a challenging task.
Have you recently bought a new house with an outdoor fountain? Do you find it difficult to manage the fountain and wonder whether you should always leave it open?
In this article, we will be helping you by clarifying what you should do to your fountain when you are not around. So with that being said, let us get started.
Pump Longevity
Before we begin, let’s clear the air by answering the questions that made you visit this article in the first place. When it comes to fountain walls, you should always leave them open.
Many people do not know this, but if you switch off your water fountain, the water will remain still for a few hours, which causes dirt and other microorganisms to accumulate more quickly than they should.
If this happens, you will have to regularly change the water or buy cleaning materials for your fountain, which can be quite costly in the long run.
Additionally, once you turn off your water fountain for a while, sediments will remain after all the stagnant water has evaporated.
It is important to remember that continuous water fountain operation reduces mineral accumulation on the surfaces of the fountain since the surface does not have to go through a dry and wet cycle.
If you allow the fountain to run all the time, the lifespan of the water pump will also increase. Why you may ask? The reason behind this is that most fountain pumps out there are designed to allow them to operate continuously without any need for breaks. By stopping the pulp, you could affect the motor rating of the pump.
Brings Humidity
If you have a home in a country or region where the temperature normally remains cold or below 20 Celsius, you should not turn off your outdoor fountain. It can be said to a great extent that humidification is crucial in every space.
This is because moisture makes the air more breathable and fresh as opposed to having it remain dry all the time. Similar to how an open humidifier can be used indoors, a water fountain can be used on the outskirts of the house to draw in moisture.
The splashing of the water adds the necessary humidity to the space by evaporating and adding healthy moisture to the air. Though you may think this does not affect the humidity levels, it has been proven countless times.
Next time you think of turning off your outdoor fountain, you could try experimenting by keeping it open for 24 hours, observing the temperature, and then repeating the same thing for another 24 hours but having the outdoor fountain closed.
If you are keen on exploring water fountains, you should check out wall fountains here.
Stagnation Process
If you are still not convinced by the idea of leaving your fountain open all the time and want to leave it closed for some time, then you must know more about the stagnation process and how it affects your outdoor fountain.
In the majority of cases, stagnation in outdoor fountains can happen in as little as 24 hours. Therefore, it will not be long before algae forms, and the quiet water will inevitably draw adult mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes will start to lay eggs as soon as they arrive, and within no time, they will grow into proper mosquitoes. No one wants to deal with the problem of having mosquito eggs and larvae lying around the fountain area.
It must be mentioned that although this occurs more frequently in warmer places, however, the process of stagnation could happen in any climate.
If you notice mosquitoes and algae in the outdoor fountain, you have to get it cleaned or even replaced which can be quite costly.
Outdoor Fountain In Winter
We have been discussing whether you should turn off the outdoor fountain in the summer, but we have yet to talk about turning it off in winter.
This is a question that most individuals have as they believe that leaving the water open in winter can freeze it and damage the water pump of the fountain. In reality, it is the opposite.
In the winter, you should not turn off the fountain since doing so might result in frozen water inside the fountain wall. You might harm the pump if you choose to turn it off when winter starts.
Additionally, frozen water could harm the fountain’s stone, marble, or other components. When the winter period ends and you turn on the outdoor water fountain, you will notice odd sounds, dirty water, and an overall low-energy fountain.
On the other hand, you might need to turn off the fountain if you reside in a cold climate that does not change over more than 6 to 8 months.
If this is the case, you need to ensure that you completely drain the water before turning it off to prevent motor damage.
Maintain Outdoor Water Fountain
Now you may be asking yourself; how can we maintain an outdoor fountain while having it open all the time? Well, the answer to that is an easy one.
Maintaining your water fountain regularly and having it professionally cleaned at least twice a year, ideally without harsh chemicals, will keep it clean. You simply need to clean your filter pads and skimmer net twice a week if you have them. When you are getting a checkup of the fountain by a professional, make sure you do the following:
-Having the water pump’s output power at its highest.
– The skimmer net and the filter pads are cleaned thoroughly
-The water should be high enough to prevent your pump from being harmed. If you have an issue with this, consider looking at automatic fill fountains.
-Ensure the auto fill function is set at the appropriate setting if the fountain has one.
The Takeaway
So there you go, folks! Now you have a better understanding of whether you should always leave your outdoor water fountain open.
