A number of people that use Ortho’s home defense spray have recently been having trouble with their spraying wand and/or spraying machine.
Luckily, you have come to this guide for assistance. Without further ado, let us get to some reasons why this is happening and what you can do to right the situation.
Why is Ortho Home Defence Spray Not Working?
The majority of us know that home defense sprays such as Ortho’s home defense spray serves as protection for your home against unwanted insect guests such as spiders, ants, and roaches.
However, you cannot go around spreading the insect repelling formula with your bare hands rather you have to use a jug of the formula and a spray wand or nozzle to spray the solution around your home and property.
Sure, this task is simple enough but what if the nozzle for the home defense spray is not functioning properly?
Luckily, there are methods to correct this problem, and most you can do yourself so that you can get back to safeguarding your home against insects.
Now, if you are not familiar with how to use Ortho’s home defense spray, you can start by purchasing a jug of the insect-killing solution (view on Amazon).
Once you have the Ortho jug, hose, and spray wand, and have put on cleaning gloves, then you can begin to shake the jug to efficiently mix the insect-killing solution.
After you have thoroughly shaken up the jug of Ortho’s home defense spray, then you can remove the sprayer from the holding clamp on the side of the jug.
Next, be sure to remove the strip hanging out of the handle to activate the batteries that are inside of the spray wand handle.
After you have removed the strip from the handle on the spray wand, then you can extend the wand out for maximum reach (if the wand does extend).
Now you can open the top of the jug and insert the red side of the spray hose into the knob hole and make sure you hear it click, then twist the knob to the “On” position.
Once you have done that, then you can select which spray pattern style you would like by twisting the spray nozzle (if the wand has this feature).
Next, you can slide the trigger lock up to unlock the spray trigger, then you can begin applying the spray solution from about 12 inches from the surface.
This may seem simple enough but it can be a challenge to get Ortho’s home defense spray to work properly. Luckily, there are ways to get the home defense spray to function correctly, which we will provide for you below.
1. The Formula Isn’t Reaching The Hose
As you may know, Ortho’s home defense spray system has a battery-powered wand, which serves to draw the formula up and into the spraying wand.
While this feature is quite helpful and makes it so you do not have to use a pump to draw the formula up; however, some users of the home defense spray have noticed that a battery-powered wand is typically not enough to consistently pull the spray formula up and into the spray hose and wand.
Usually, in such a situation, you might use a pressure pump on the container to create enough pressure to push the spray formula up into the spray hose and wand; however, Ortho’s home defense spray typically does not have a pressure pump on the container.
This is particularly frustrating since the battery-powered wand on the home defense spray is supposed to make it easier to use. Luckily, there is a way to create enough pressure to draw within the container to make Ortho’s home defense spray work once again.
Fix – Use Gravity To Create a Draw
Now, while it would be great to simply set up your Ortho’s home defense spray and let it sit on the ground while you spray apply the formula to the area; however, many users of Ortho’s home defense spray have noticed that the battery-powered wand is usually not enough to draw up the spray formula.
In such a scenario you can fix this issue by making sure to first shake the jug container to appropriately mix the spray formula, then hold the jug above the spray wand so that the spray formula container will gravity feed the formula to the spray hose and wand.
Once you have held the formula container above the spray wand and have successfully established the gravity feed so that it is effectively spraying the home defense spray, then you can place the formula jug on the ground as you spray the appropriate surfaces.
You may have to repeat the gravity feed method to maintain the proper function of the formula spray wand, which you can do by holding the formula container above the spray wand to again create the pull of gravity inside the spray hose.
Be sure to also shake the spray formula container or jug when you hold it above the spray wand.
2. Spray Wand Tip Clogged
The reason why the spray wand on your Ortho’s home defense spray is not working properly could be due to the spray want tip becoming clogged by particles and debris.
This especially applies to the refillable container of Ortho’s home defense spray since the spray wand tip can easily become clogged from dirt, dust, and debris.
You might store the container and spray in a shed or garage in between uses, which is when the spray wand tip can catch and gather dust, dirt, and debris.
This debris can stay trapped in the spray wand tip and clog it to the point that none of the formula sprays will be able to make it through the spray tip.
Fix – Soak/Clean The Spray Wand Tip
If you believe that the reason why the spray wand for your Ortho’s home defense spray is not working is that it is clogged up with dirt, dust, and debris.
The first thing you will want to do is put on a pair of cleaning gloves, then you might need a pair of pliers to pull apart the spray wand tip to get it off of the spray wand and hose.
Once you have carefully and successfully removed the spray wand tip, then prepare a separate container that you do not mind possibly throwing away.
This is because the insect-killing solution is hazardous to both humans and animals alike. Now you can fill the container with warm and soapy water.
Once you have the container prepared and have also successfully removed the spray wand tip, then you can place the spray wand tip in the warm and soapy water and let it soak for at least 30 minutes to break any dirt, dust, debris, or even old stuck on insect killing solution.
After you have soaked the spray wand tip in warm and soapy water for at least 30 minutes, then you can take the spray wand tip out of the warm and soapy water and dry it off using a paper towel.
The inside of the spray wand tip may be difficult to dry with the paper towel, which means you can let the spray wand tip sit on a paper towel in a well-ventilated area (preferably outside) for a while to completely dry.
Once the spray wand tip is completely dry, then you can push the spray wand tip back onto the spray wand, which may take some force to get it to pop back into place.
However, if you believe that the spray wand tip is broken and will not reattach to the spray wand and hose, then you should be able to contact Ortho for them to send you an entirely new spray wand.
3. Broken or Faulty Spray Wand/Tip
It is feasible that you may have purchased an Ortho’s home defense spray system that is faulty and it is equally possible that the spray wand or tip of the wand might be broken.
If you use a refillable container of Ortho’s home defense spray and spray wand and simply refill the container each time you use the insect-killing solution; then it is especially likely that the spray wand or spray wand tip could be broken.
If the spray wand or tip is indeed broken, then the spray wand will either have difficulty performing correctly or it may simply not work.
It is important to note that it is quite common for the spray wand and tip to wear out after more than a few uses, which is also especially common for the refillable container of Ortho’s home defense spray.
Fix – Contact Ortho or Get Refund/Replacement
If you recently bought some of Ortho’s home defense spray yet the spray wand will not function properly, you may have purchased a faulty container, spray wand, and/or spray hose.
This typically means that the insect-killing spray system was flawed before you got the container and spray wand. This is a real bummer and quite inconvenient; however, if you purchased Ortho’s home defense spray from a local department store and kept the receipt, you should have no problem returning the faulty Ortho’s home defense spray.
If you ordered the insect-killing solution either from Ortho directly or on a third-party site such as Amazon, you may be able to contact Ortho and get a replacement for your container and spray wand.
Home defense sprays such as Ortho are excellent insect-killing and repelling solutions for your home. However, even simple machines have trouble working properly at times.
Luckily, there are many methods and ideas about how one can go about resolving the issue. With some patience and thought-out actions you could have the issue mended in less than a minute.
Where can I buy a sprayer, it is broke
I returned the first container of the OrthoHome Defense Insect Killer because the wand stopped working within the 1st 15 minutes. I exchanged it for another container which would not spray at all. I called Ortho customer service. They sent me a new spray wand. Son of a b, it wouldn’t spray either. I called customer service again. They walked me through the gravity priming, but again it would not spray. I then put some pressure on the side of the container and it started spraying, but the product also leaked from the top of the cap. So, my concluding thought is, there is defect in the cap. Activating the wand should create a vacuum in the container propelling the liquid into the tube, through the wand and out through the nozzle. If there is a breach in the seal anywhere along the path, there will be little to no spray. I’m not an engineer, but I do have a little walk about sense.