It seems to me that people who worry about that kind of a lawn have entirely too much time avialable to devote to worrying. Oh, there is one other effort that I make. I dig out any thistles because they do not feel good when stepped on in bare feet which is mostly what I have. Whatever damage they do is due to the general health of the lawn. If they do serious damage, it was because the grass was stressed.
Many people water their lawns with hand-held hose, for example.
When the watering fool gets tired of his or her folishness or goes on vacation the grass will suffer from a lack of water in the root zone. Less care would have seen the roots go deeper into the soil where it could find the needed moisture through all but a severe drought. Same deal with lawn chemicals. Let the lawn take care of itself for a couple of years. Don't mow it too closely.