but it could have helped somebody else! :-(

Evidently Sherm determined upon reflection that the answer was self evident and not worth discussion. His question, his call.
As municipal water treatment involves the employment of multiple chemical treatments (yeah, I once worked for a city water department), I wonder why a self righteous "anti-chemical environmentalist" would be interested in an artificial lawn watering question. Rain should give all you need. Unless, they were upset that they were denied the opportunity to jump on their soap box.
I can't thank you enough Sherm.

Lol. I have no idea what just happened here.

My question was mainly concerning how long it would take to water my lawn with an oscillating sprinkler and if it was normal. I figured parts of my lawn would take close to 4 hours to get 1 inch of water. I was sure if that was normal but being that I have clay soil that absorbs slowly, I concluded the longer it took the better. That's why I deleted it.

Yardtractor mother nature normally does supply enough water. I may start watering after fertilizing only because mother nature supplied too much rain after I fertilized the last time and washed it all away. I'm wondering if I could just water it in by hand instead.........

Chemical fertilizers must be washed down to the soil and diluted with water immediately after you apply them. Why? Because if you don't the morning dew will dissolve the pellets of fertilizer creating a very strong solution of fertilizer water. Those extremely salty droplets of moisture can kill the grass.

If you use organic fertilizer, those do not dissolve in water, so there is no need to try. It can be helpful to water them to wash them down to the ground, but it is not necessary. You can jiggle them down to the ground by simply dragging a hose across the dry grass after you apply. Organic fertilizers work biologically. They are made from foodstuffs which decompose naturally under the influence of the beneficial microbes in the soil. After about three weeks, the fertilizer you applied to the surface will have become plant food down at the root zone. That is why organic fertilizers are referred to as 'slow release.'

Valid question and valid reason for deleting it in my book. Not that you need validation.

Jacob posted an environmental rant on another thread that irked me. So, me being a senior citizen, I decided to take the childish path and use your thread to give him a poke with a sharp stick.

There have been some really poorly thought out questions posted over the years that I'm sure people had wished they had deleted. A long long time ago a guy (yours truly) was in a discussion about watering and stated that he had been using a whirlybird sprinkler, but that he had purchased an oscillating sprinkler at suggestion that it did a better job.
The question went something like this:
"I tested the oscillatiing sprinkler and it takes four times longer to put out the same amount of water as my whirlybird does. Four times longer is four times more water is four times more money. Why would anyone use an oscillating over a whirlybird?!!"

As soon as I posted it, I realized my error.
I had just posted the equivalent of arguing that a pound of lead weighs more than a pound of feathers. If I could have deleted it, I would have, but that was in the days when most sites didn't have the option of editing or deleting a post. :)

It's Ok yardtractor. We all make mistakes. Some of us just make more than others ;)

I don't plan on really needing to water at all but after my last fertilizer application was washed away I started thinking maybe I should water a half inch. When I put out a container to measure the water, I started to realize how long it would take to get a half inch let alone 1 inch. Then I was wondering about should I water in fertilizer. My yard has looked great over the years and I normally time fertilizing with rain. This is the only time I can recall getting a flash flood after fertilizing which was really my fault for not paying attention to the weather. 1 data point does not constitute a trend. I made a post with all this going through my mind. After I calmed down and thought it through I kind of figured it all out. I just panic when it comes to my yard.

wow. I actually had questions about sprinklers too...

Yes, after getting beaten down for my choice of grass seed, I did feel the need to defend myself and give reason for choices... If you knew me at all, you would know that I'm probably the most non-get-on-a-soapbox person you know. I'm not an environmentalist freak, I do prefer to care for the environment in realistic ways however...

nevermind all that...

here's a link to the thread he's referring to if you want to make your own decisions...

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg0509174227339.html

I'm burying the stick Jacob, unless you start an argument about whirlybirds. :)

Whirlybirds are an endangered species and should NOT be used for any kind of personal gain! How dare you!!! :-)

It's sad that I feel like I need to say this (not for yard tractor).... But I'm just kidding :-)