« I thought the timer was doing its job »: why buried emitters drop from 2 l/h to a trickle without leaving a single wet patch on the surface
Buried drip emitters don’t fail loudly—they fade away invisibly, dropping from rated flow to a trickle while leaving no wet patch on the surface. The culprit isn’t roots or broken hoses, but mineral buildup and sediment accumulating millimeters below ground, masked by soil absorption and faulty pressure-compensating mechanisms.