Artificial Grass Maintenance and Care Tips

With artificial grass comes the responsibility of cleaning and a tiny bit of care. This will go a long way to prolonging the lifespan of your fake grass and keep it looking good for years to come. Although it may sound like artificial grass maintenance is as arduous as what you’d go through with a natural lawn, this is not the case.

This article looks at the main things you should be doing to look after your faux lawn. We’ve included nine tips involved with artificial grass maintenance and care so you can be safe in the knowledge that you know how to deal with any situation.

Interested in a synthetic lawn? Use our quote comparison tool to find out how much you’d pay. It only takes a minute.

Why Artificial Grass Maintenance Is Important

There are a few benefits to maintaining your fake lawn:

• Keep it looking good

• Maintain safety for pets and children

• Prolong its life

Why do people purchase artificial grass? Because it looks good any time of the year and requires less work than a natural lawn. By keeping on top of its requirements, it will look the envy of the street (or neighbourhood). Fortunately, artificial grass maintenance isn’t too much of a chore.

If you look after anything, you can expect it to last. With an average life expectancy of 12 years, you can hit or exceed that milestone through upkeep. Naturally, the highest quality artificial grass is capable of lasting much longer – up to 20 years – so paying out more to start with can save you money in the long run.

With regular maintenance, artificial grass will give you value for money. Considering how much a synthetic lawn can cost, you will want to ensure you get the best longevity out of it. You might have to add a bit of manual labour, but it’s a small price to pay for years of enjoyment and use.

Care and Maintenance Tips

Our top tips affect not only the appearance, but the feel and usability of your lawn. With regular maintenance, artificial grass will always be available for use.

Regular, Dry Brushing

Our first artificial grass maintenance tip is about giving it a brush. With so much debris outdoors, it makes sense to clear it off your artificial turf. To start with, it looks much nicer without twigs and leaves on top of it. Secondly, dead plants and the like can facilitate the growth of mould and moss, which is trickier to remove. It’s easier to make brushing part of your artificial grass maintenance routine.

Brushing a fake lawn is also good for keeping the blades erect. The more artificial grass lawns are used and walked upon, the more likely the fibres are to be squashed flat. Brushing against the grain is a sure way to bring back some volume. There are even types of artificial grass that resist foot traffic, which will stay up by themselves.

Use a Sand Infill

Similar to how you’d use kiln dried sand to fix block paving into place, you use silica sand to help support artificial grass. This keeps the fibres upright and weighs it down. In terms of artificial grass maintenance, it’s a little more involved than other steps, but it’s certainly worth it.

By giving your fake lawn more weight, you prevent it from lifting and being torn. The sand also acts as a cushioning layer, for added protection from play and against pet claws. Depending on the type of infill you choose, you can even aid drainage or avoid bacterial growth.

As a top artificial grass maintenance tip, the infill should be a sub-rounded structure that won’t break down or compact. Using angular sand is never a good idea, as you’ll have to constantly top it up. When it breaks down, it causes damage to the fibres. Rounded infills don’t have this problem.

It may sound as though you’ll have a sandy looking lawn, but infills are designed to sink to the bottom of the artificial grass composition. Once brushed in, the weather will naturally settle the sand down, keeping your lawn looking lush.

Remove Mess

Our next piece of artificial grass maintenance advice is for dealing with and cleaning up after your furry companion.

Pets can make use of artificial grass with no issue, but any mess they leave behind should be removed as soon as possible. Prolonged exposure to pet waste can damage fibres and leave unpleasant smells hanging around. You should remove pet waste with a plastic bag or scoop first before anything remaining is washed with clean water.

In terms of smell maintenance, artificial grass should be cleaned without delay. If you have persistent odours, you can use a solution of water, vinegar and baking soda to remove these. This works quickly, so you don’t have to worry about thoroughly scrubbing.

Eradicate Stains

Moving on to our next artificial grass maintenance tip, we look at dealing with stains. Depending on the nature of the spill, stains can hang around and cause an unpleasant eyesore to your lawn.

In terms of cleaning, warm water with a neutral detergent or washing-up liquid should be used. This will work on most stains. Similar to what you’d experience with pet waste, the longer it’s left, the harder it can be to remove. Any liquids that are spilled should be absorbed immediately using a clean cloth. With chewing gum, you should freeze this with ice cubes before hitting it to break it apart.

If you have a stubborn stain, artificial grass maintenance doesn’t have to be daunting. Once a watery detergent mix is applied, a toothbrush can always be used to work the stain so it doesn’t spread. Allow the solution to sit for 5–15 minutes to penetrate the stain before rinsing the area with clean water. You can use white spirit, but this should be used carefully and washed off afterwards.

No Harsh Chemicals

Stains shouldn’t be treated with solutions that contain bleach or acids as these can discolour the fibres. Even if you have a pet, you should never use diluted bleach in your artificial grass maintenance regime as it can react with ammonia present from urea, leading to a toxic combination.

The best tip for artificial grass cleaning is to always test an area that’s out of sight or as inconspicuous as possible. This way, you can avoid the embarrassment of having to look at or explain a discoloured patch on your lawn to others. Pesticides can also have the effect of discolouring the fibres, so these should always be checked as well.

You can buy artificial grass cleaners in the UK, which are excellent at removing stains and smells. They’re even good for pets, meaning you don’t have to include special artificial grass maintenance to compensate.

Rinse Off

One of the best ways you can stay on top of artificial grass maintenance is to rinse your synthetic lawn down with a hose every so often. This can remove dirt and debris, just like brushing, but will also work on other messes.

Regularly hosing down fake grass helps the drainage of urine from pets and ensures fluids pass through to the sub-base. It can also lower the levels of moss or algae that might be growing. Keeping your lawn clean is one of the easiest ways you can cut down on maintenance for artificial grass.

Avoid Heavy or Pointy Objects

To prevent as much maintenance, artificial grass should avoid having heavy or sharp items put on it. The grass fibres can be flattened with heavy outdoor furniture, which causes it to not look as appealing. A flat lawn is a depressing lawn. Likewise, objects that have sharp points or ends should be used carefully on these surfaces (or not at all). Avoid dragging them across artificial grass as it can rip the surface and pull out fibres.

Similarly, garden tools dropped on the lawn can force a hole through the membrane, allowing weeds to grow through or for further damage to occur. While sharp objects are more of a risk than heavy ones, your grass can always bounce back from weightier items, but not from being cut by pointy implements.

To revive squashed fibres, you can always use a plastic rake instead of a bristle broom. Having alternatives to artificial grass maintenance makes it easier. In a similar vein, avoid touching snow and ice, as it won’t cause any damage and will disappear by itself.

Get a Professional

At least once a year, it could be a good idea to hire the services of a professional pressure washer. If the conditions are right, or you’ve neglected maintenance over the year, moss and algae can grow. Using the professional services of artificial grass maintenance specialists, you can spruce up your artificial grass to restore some of its natural colour.

A professional will have the suitable equipment to offer a deep clean. For them, artificial grass maintenance is easier as they have the right tools that you wouldn’t find at home, such as a leaf blower. Foam cleaning, for example, can completely sanitise your lawn and leave it looking better than ever.

Similarly, they can use power brushes to give the pile a bit of a spruce up. To save you the time and effort, maintenance of your artificial grass can be done for you.

Deweed at the Source

Any weeds that appear should be treated at the roots. You can simply chop weeds as they are, but they will always grow back and any leftover material will likely attract more weeds or damaging bacteria.

Weed killer can be used to stop weeds from coming back as it tackles their roots. Although artificial grass is installed with a weed control membrane, sometimes weeds can still grow. It’s important to stay on top of weeds so they don’t spoil your fake grass. This is why artificial grass maintenance is so important.

Get Your Own Low Maintenance Lawn

If you’re set on moving away from real grass, why not find out how much artificial grass would cost you? Use the button below to compare tailored quotes from local suppliers. For one thing, you’ll have the knowledge of artificial grass maintenance at your disposal.