08 Jun Gambino Landscape Lighting Systems are Not Maintenance Free (And Nobody Else’s Are Either)
By Mike Gambino
“Maintenance free” became a huge buzz word in the construction industry over the last few years, and just as fast as it became popular companies started running from it, realizing that just about everything needs some sort of maintenance. Your decorative low voltage landscape lighting is no different.
While Gambino landscape lighting system products are as durable a product as you can find in the industry, they still needs some routine maintenance. Whether it is a Monaco copper spread light, a Firenze wide angle flood light, or a Toscano bullet style accent light, Cast Brass and copper materials while extremely durable, are not a ‘set it and forget it’ product.
To get the best performance and longest life out of your Gambino landscape lighting system, you need to keep them maintained. Over time, the lenses are going to become etched, soiled, gunked up and need to be cleaned. The exposure to elements will take their toll and inevitably block light output. Fixture finishes will need to be cleaned and polished. Always growing plant materials will need to be pruned away from the fixtures in order not to block light output. In some cases fixtures will need to be relocated due to plant growth.
The amount of traffic your landscaping gets, the type of trees and plant materials you have and your climate, will also determine how often you will need to have your system serviced. Harsher climates and higher traffic areas will need more frequent attention. Trees and plants that grow rapidly and or drip sap will need more frequent service intervals.
Timers may need reprogramming, photocells cleaned and adjusted to work their best,
Rubber o-ring seals that keep water out of fixtures will occasionally need to be greased or replaced. Silicone seals also should be checked on regular intervals in order to ensure that they are doing their job of keeping water from getting into the seal between the fixture and glass lens. Water intrusion is particularly harmful to lamps that need to stay dry especially the costly electronics of LED’s.
A beautiful Gambino landscape lighting masterpiece may end up losing its brilliance or color, or even worse, may start to show a decrease in performance and light output simply because it hasn’t been maintained. Heating and cooling cycles as well as high winds and driving rain, salt spray can be absolutely brutal to an improperly maintained landscape lighting system.
Keeping your decorative landscape lighting tuned up on a regular basis (minimum every 6 months) is a cheap alternative compared to having to fix a damaged system that has been neglected over time.
You can liken it to changing the oil in your car. You can get by for a while but eventually there will be an issue, and it will most likely be a costly one.
A simple maintenance schedule will allow you to get the longest possible life out of your landscape lighting system and enjoy it for years to come.
This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all 
rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 28 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.Gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .
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