An outdoor misting system is a great way to provide a cooling down for a backyard or a porch when the season gets very hot outside, and you still want to entertain! The key factor in making a misting system work is having a good vantage point where gravity can take effect and as the misting system produces the water droplets. As the water escapes, it generally drops down, cooling both the air and anything below where it exits from the misting hose. No surprise then, there needs to be enough of a position above everything for the system to work well.
How a Misting System Can be Made Effective
To install an outdoor misting system is not a hard job and can usually be done in a day. The mechanism is also very simple. It uses water pressure and a specialized waterline that has tiny little holes in it at different segments along the line. As the water pressure pushes through the hose it squeezes the water out of the tiny holes. With the pressure being high enough, the water shoots out in very, very tiny drops, which break up in the air and become mist. That fine mist becomes distributed in the nearby air, and it cools down everything around it in terms of temperature. Water is a great heat sink; it absorbs a tremendous amount of hot temperature, and it can drop the ambient surrounding air when turned into a mist by anywhere from five to ten degrees.
Watch out for Moisture Damage
Obviously, homeowners don’t want to put anything that can be damaged by water underneath a working misting system. The high humidity and moisture will get soaked into whatever material happens to be beneath. Whether it’s paper or fabric or what not, the water landing below could start to damage the material as it soaks up the moisture like a sponge.
Installation Takes Good Planning, Not Elbow Grease
Misting systems are not hard to install, but using some good planning gets the best out of the system as opposed to simply just putting one up and then expecting it to cover the entire backyard. Again, the focus for a working misting system should be where people are sitting and spending a good amount of time out in the heat, not on the perimeter of the entire backyard as it won’t have the best effect.
Supply and Pressure
The water supply misting system can be connected from a basic water tap that is already installed on the side of house externally. It can also run off of a hose line, running from a faucet tap that is in a different location, as long as the line has sufficient pressure for the water to travel. Remember, it takes more pressure for water to travel upward to a higher level, so the water feed should be strong. A lackluster water feed won’t be able to push the water through the hose system correctly, and instead of getting misting, the little holes will simply produce tiny drops that just drip down in big globs below.
When and Where to Use a Misting System
Misting systems are really functional and best used in the heat of summer. They don’t work well in cooler times of the year. In fact, misting can actually make a person colder outside even though it’s a pleasant day.
Other uses for misting systems are application with greenhouses, or with growing specific plants that need a lot of moisture and are in a contained environment. Misters are a great way to provide moisture to plants that require humidity. Many landscapers or plant growers will run a misting line at a certain height inside a greenhouse or inside a contained area with a row of plants, and the mist simply falls down onto the plants and gets absorbed through their leaves and the soil.
Maintenance
Misting systems need to be maintained on a regular basis due to the water and the sediment inside the waterline. Tiny bits of minerals can eventually clog and start to plug up the tiny holes that allow the mist water to escape in a misting line. Treatment with vinegar can break down this problem and clear the exit holes again in a line.
Misting is a great way to enjoy your backyard in summer, and the installation isn’t a big, disruptive project. It also can be a wonderful way to irrigate sensitive plants for those with a green thumb.
