How to Clean Synthetic Grass

While fake turf is often touted as easy to maintain, it nevertheless necessitates some maintenance. The following are a few recommendations we’ve gathered by talking to lawn owners like yourself to help keep the turf well-maintained.

Unique Cleaning Needs

Fake grass does not have identical needs or threats as natural grass. Artificial lawns won’t get taken over with weeds or pests because of their synthetic surface. However, the turf can be susceptible to various forms of damage. These tips will help you avoid these kinds of issues with ease.

Loose Debris

Start by removing objects like children’s toys, dog bones, or thick limbs by hand. Then, you can use a leaf blower to quickly remove small waste like fallen leaves and twigs Next, blow all the debris that the leaf blower can toward a designated area of your yard, making clean up even faster. Now you can gather up the whole pile for disposal.

Mild Stains

Life happens. Sometimes it happens on grass. Food might fall off tables at cookouts, beverages get knocked over, and pets use grass as their toilet. The steps to clean up are simple for stains like pop, coffee, tea, alcohol, blood, urine, and other common substances. You’ll need to:

• Quickly clean spills so they will not leave a stubborn spot by blotting up the spilled liquid with a towel or kitty litter.
• Rinse the area with a mix of water and mild household detergent.
• If you need a stronger stain removal aid, consider using a turf-safe disinfectant/cleaner.
• Rinse thoroughly with running water to remove the cleaner.
• If stains still appear, repeat the process.

 

Tough Stains

If you’re stuck with something more stubborn like motor oil, it can be trickier to clean up than a simple spilled drink. If you’ve tried to remove the stain with the gentle dish soap more than once, you can give mineral spirits a try.

• Avoid skin irritation by wearing protective gear like gloves and heavy overshirts/pants, and use a respirator to avoid dangerous fumes.
• Get started by soaking a soft cloth in mineral spirits. After that, softly wipe off the stained blades of your turf.
• IMPORTANT: Make sure that the solution does not go past the grass blades and underneath the turf, as this can result in serious damage to your artificial grass.
• Gently the area with a garden hose and soak up any excess liquid.

 

Sticky Stuff

If you are dealing with sticky items like gum, set paint, crayons, lipstick, or resin, you can start by trying to softly remove it off the grass. Use caution that you don’t slice off the grass blades as you’re scraping. Follow the grass in an upward motion with the knife to avoid ruining it. If you can’t remove it like this, try cooling the sticky material first with ice cubes or dry ice and try to remove it again.

Pet Waste

If you have dogs, you are familiar with cleaning up their droppings in the yard. With artificial grass, you won’t experience the annoying discolored areas from urine — your grass will always be green! Cleaning up droppings on synthetic turf is not a big deal. Simply allow feces to dry before removing it. We do recommend specialized pet turf, which has special backing and infill that allows urine drain quickly and efficiently without smell.

Avoiding Damage

While most stains are easily removed from synthetic grass, there are a few safety measures to consider, so you won’t damage the synthetic grass.

No Open Fires

You should extra careful not to have an open fire near your synthetic turf. Even the tiniest spark can escape from the fire. Your lawn will not catch fire, but the embers will melt the fibers in your turf. Consider building a patio area using stones or crushed rock with ample seating space and install fireproof partition for the fire pit. Take care not to set off firecrackers or anything else that can cause fire damage.

Don’t Drive On It

While artificial turf can handle a lot of weight, using a car on it is not recommended. The motion of the wheels can damage the fibers and infill. This will cause the fibers to start pulling away from the base layer and eventually lead to tears. Excessive weight will cause the surface to flatten and you will have depressions that are hard to fix.

Use Chemicals With Care

When using pesticides and herbicides, be sure not to let them come into contact with your synthetic grass. These chemicals will have a negative reaction with the surface of the grass, potentially causing discoloration. In addition, make sure to keep gasoline and all vehicle fluids away from the grass to avoid similar situations. If you have to use chemicals or paint near the turf, it's a good idea to lay a heavy-duty protective tarp on top of the turf to mitigate any possible damage.

Be Mindful of Sharp Items

It may not come as a surprise, pointed objects can tear into your artificial grass. The sharper-edged the thing, the higher the risk. Sharp-tipped garden tools, sharp furniture feet, and household tools have the chance to slash your attractive turf, so be mindful using any of these items. We recommend using furniture feet covers to avoid damage.

Routine Care

In addition to regular wear and tear, fake grass owners should take a little time for a periodic cleaning schedule to maintain the quality and life span of their product. By following a regimen of eliminating fallen objects, hosing down on a regular basis (in drought prone areas), and cross brushing will keep your grass looking fantastic for quite some time.

Equipment You Need

To keep your grass looking fresh, there are some must-have items you’ll want to keep handy. Here is a summary:

• Water Hose: If you live in a rainy area, this will be not as important, but still helpful for spraying the grass during droughts.
• Leaf Blower: You can use a leaf blower to remove a light of light debris efficiently. Opt for one that has a vacuum function, so you can use it like a vacuum cleaner, too.
• Plastic Bristle Rake: Don't use metal rakes because they are too harsh, but plastic rakes will help you perk up the grass to be perky again.

 

Clean, Rinse, Brush, Repeat

There are 4 main steps to caring for artificial grass regularly. These steps should be done on a monthly basis, and if possible, every week:

Step 1: Remove debris from the grass. This is critical after storms or high winds. Eliminating tree debris will protect your grass from damage.

Step 2: Rinse regularly with a hose. Cool water is all you need to remove grime. If you’re in a rain-prone area173, you won’t have to rinse the grass as much.

Step 3: Brush the grass against the grain, especially in high-traffic areas. Cross brushing against the grain will stop the turf fibers from becoming compacted.

Step 4: Let the grass dry for 30 minutes to 60 mins before resuming normal activities.

Final Thoughts

Artificial turf is an excellent choice for some Sarasota property owners and businesses alike. Although it requires way less maintenance than organic grass, there are still some tasks you’ll have to do to keep it well-maintained. By following these steps, we’re confident you can have the perfect yard all year long!

If you haven’t gotten synthetic turf lawn yet and are on the fence deciding, contact Dance Floor Custom Greens today for a complimentary estimate.