One of the biggest advantages that artificial grass holds over natural grass lawns is that synthetic turf doesn’t need as much care and maintenance. With artificial turf, you don’t have to apply any pesticides; you don’t have to use fertilizer or pay a handyman to aerate and water your lawn just to have it looking green and healthy.
That, however, doesn’t mean that once installed, artificial grass won’t need some kind of care and maintenance. You still need to learn how to clean artificial grass.
From time to time, you will need to perform some basic care and maintenance duties on your artificial turf. This will often include light work like hosing down a particular spot because your best friend “Bosco” decided to mark his territory using his urine, or maybe a few birds went number two on it. You will also need to have someone do a bit of turf refilling to ensure that the grass remains level and without unsightly patches.
How much work and maintenance your synthetic turf will need will depend on your particular situation? For example, someone with three boys, a dog, and who hosts a lot of playdates will need to do a lot more work on his/her turf than someone with no kids and only occasional parties. Also, if you live in a particularly dusty area, then you might have to hose down your turf more often.
It is advisable to create a care and maintenance chart or schedule on how to clean artificial grass depending on your particular situation. That being said, here are some tips on how to clean and care for artificial grass for the typical homeowner.
Tip 1: Carry Out Light Weekly Synthetic Turf Cleaning and Maintenance
To make things easier on yourself, you will need to rinse your artificial grass at least once every week lightly. This involves using a hose to spray down the fibers to get rid of small debris and dust.
Tip 2: A Thorough Monthly Cleaning
At least once every month, you should schedule a thorough cleaning session for your synthetic turf. This involves:
- Using a still brush to get rid of the accumulated dust, leaves, and other kinds of debris and dirt
- Using a broom, sweep against the synthetic grass’ natural grain to put them in an upright position
When sweeping or brushing the turf, be sure not to use a broom with steel bristles because this might cause damage to the turf.
Tips on How to Remove Pet and Other Form of Waste from your Artificial Grass
Because artificial grass doesn’t need harmful chemicals such as pesticides to maintain it, this is a pet-friendly option that many homeowners are quickly embracing. That, however, comes with a whole different kind of care and maintenance need.
Here are some tips on how to care for your artificial lawn when you have a pet:
- Remove any solid waste using a pooper scooper or baggie: There is nothing special here; simply use your most preferred method of pet waste removal to get the solid waste off the grass.
- Hose down that area with water: Once the solid waste has been removed, simply hose down that area with water. You also need to find where your pet urinates on a regular basis and hose that down too. You are advised to hose down these urination spots a bit more often (maybe several times a week) and use some kind of air freshener to make sure it doesn’t smell of poop and pee. You can use different kinds of turf deodorizers.
Artificial turf installers need to know if you have pets. That way, they can take special precautions when installing your artificial grass. This often includes a special membrane between the base of your synthetic grass to allow for better air circulation as well as turf deodorizer at the base and another layer at the top of the infill.
How to Clean Chewing Gum, Spills, Blood, Bacteria and Other Occurrences
If you have kids or host any kind of parties at all, you are going to experience some unfortunate occurrences such as spillage, mustard drips, some bloodstains in case of injuries, and so on. All these things need to be cleaned out.
While synthetic turf is stain resistant, it still needs to be cleaned after such accidents. To do that, all you need is some warm water, mild soap and some vinegar (you can use a half-and-half ratio between the water and the vinegar). The mixture of water and vinegar is particularly effective when it comes to dealing with bacteria.
When it comes to chewing gum and other sticky stuff, simply picking them up might do the trick. However, when the gum is really in there, using an ice cube to chill it first might work. Once it’s hard and semi-brittle, you can use a plastic putty knife to pry it out.
Remember, if you must pry something out, do not use anything sharp; these might cut holes in your artificial turf.
Tips on How to Remove Snow or Ice from Your Artificial Grass
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to let snow and ice melt away naturally. Your artificial turf is perforated, and the melting water can drain away. However, if you feel the need to get rid of the ice or snow sooner, here are some tips that you can follow to do so:
- Simply sweep or brush away a light dusting of snow
- If, however, you have several inches or feet of snow, you can use your snowblower or shovel to remove it. Be careful only to remove the top layers of the snow or ice leaving at least an inch of it on the turf. You can then use your broom or brush to sweep away that remaining inch, so you don’t damage your turf with the shovel or snow blower.
Some of these tasks are simple and don’t take up that much time. With the right kind of light yet consistent care and maintenance, you can keep your turf looking brand new for years.