How to care for Artificial Grass or Astro Turf
There are two main reasons for choosing Artificial Grass or Astro Turf for a project:
1. It’s not possible to grow organic grass in a particular area. Maybe there’s a lack of sunlight, of water or of soil.
2. Artificial Grass needs less maintenance than living grass.
Just because a product is lower maintenance, doesn’t mean that it won’t need a certain amount of TLC to keep it looking good and performing well. Astro turf is not exactly the same as carpet but it still needs to be cleaned from time to time and you do need to take sensible precautions to avoid damaging it.
How to avoid damaging your Artificial grass
Heat and Fire
GreenasGrass products are made from high quality synthetic constituents. We’ve taken pains to ensure that they are fire retardant – but they can still be damaged by extreme heat.
If you are holding a summer barbecue or an autumn fireworks party – please be careful not to let very hot materials fall onto or touch your artificial grass. The sward may well be damaged and it will be difficult to repair.
Chemicals
Modern day life is full of chemicals and some of them are not at all compatible with artificial grass. If you are using herbicides or pesticides elsewhere in the garden, please protect your artificial grass first.
Other domestic chemicals such as white spirit, nail varnish remover, bleach, cleaning agents, fuel, paint and others, could potentially damage your artificial grass if they come into contact with it. Be careful about who does what on your lawn. Greenasgrass cannot compensate you for any damage that is due to spillages.
Bright light
Greenasgrass products are protected against quite strong UV light. They’re used all over the world and we’ve not heard of any fading in sunlight. However, concentrated light could potentially affect the colour. If you like mirrors and glass ornaments, just be careful that they don’t focus strong light onto your artificial grass.
Cuts
Artificial grass is like a very strong fabric. The backing material is tough but nevertheless it can be cut and once it is, it’s hard to fix. Domestic knives are unlikely to damage the backing fabric but please be careful if you are working with power tools near your artificial turf. Watch out too for children with scissors who think they’ll help you by trimming the lawn (trust me, it’s been done). The worst culprits for damaging artificial turf though are sports shoes with studs or spikes on the bottom of them. Be mindful of footwear.
Be aware too that things like rounders posts or croquet hoops that are designed to stick into soil are not suitable for use with artificial turf.
Wear and tear
Good quality Artificial grass is incredibly durable but just like living grass or even carpet, if you use the same piece of ground continually, the pile will eventually crush. Try to remember to move furniture and toys around the lawn from time to time. Careful garden design will help too. For example install a proper path between the house and the washing line and make sure you use it.
Simple things really. All you have to remember is that your artificial turf is not the same as real lawn. Damage won’t simply “grow out”.
Your Artificial grass maintenance regime
When you invest in a good quality product, you want it to stay in tip top condition for a very long time.
Green as Grass recommend a regular maintenance regime for your artificial turf. How often you need to carry out the following jobs depends on how often (and how vigorously) you use your lawn. These are our suggestions for a back garden that is used almost daily
Once a fortnight
Brush the grass with a medium stiff broom or a non-metallic rake. This will remove debris, discourage moss and weeds, and plump up the pile
3-4 times a year
Remove any cheeky weeds that may have appeared around the edges of your lawn.
Hose off any dusty deposits and tiny weed seeds using clean water. Using a pressure washer on your lawn is definitely not recommended.
If you have pets, you may want to wash the lawn with diluted washing up liquid and then rinse it off with water. It is possible to buy specialist cleaning materials for artificial lawns, if you do choose you use one, please test it on a small area first.
When accidents happen
Pet poo needs to be removed as soon as it is dropped. If necessary wash the area immediately using diluted water based detergent.
Other spills – food, drink etc must be cleaned off as quickly as possible – just as you would on a carpet. Avoid using harsh chemicals unless you know for certain that they won’t react with or damage the fabric of your lawn.
Maintenance is quite simple – and the more skilled the installer you choose to lay your artificial turf, the less likely you are to encounter any problems.
If you have any questions at all, or if you’d like to know more about our installation service, please get in touch with the team at GreenasGrass. We’re always happy to chat.