How to Look After your Artificial Grass
Here are some regular maintenance tasks to make sure your artifical lawn stays in tip-top condition.
Maintaining your Artificial Lawn
Artificial lawn has become a low maintenance alternative to real lawn, although this does not mean no maintenance. Whilst fake lawns don’t require watering or mowing like traditional lawns, they do require some regular upkeep to make sure they stay in good condition. With just a little regular maintenance once a month you can ensure that your artificial lawn lasts for years.
Brushing
Brushing your lawn with a stiff natural bristle brush once a month will help keep the pile of your turf upright and bouncy underfoot. For best results, brush it in all directions. In areas of high foot traffic, brushing may need to be done more regularly.
Removing Debris and Weeds
Removing debris from your lawn keeps it looking clean and fresh and much more pleasant to walk on. Not only that, removing any organic debris such as leaves or pet waste from the lawn as quickly as possible, is the best way to prevent weeds, which tend to grow where there is a build up of organic matter.
Artificial lawn has a porous membrane backing to it, which does minimise the growth of weeds, however certain weeds and mosses can be persistent. Unlike natural lawns you cannot dig these weeds out, instead you could either just take the top off the weed, which will not rid you of the weed and is purely a cosmetic solution, or you could treat it with a weed killer. If using weed killer, it must be water based to avoid damage to the lawn and be careful, using sparingly if you have children or pets.
Winter
Artificial lawn is resilient when it comes to extreme weather such as snow and frost. However, consider in times of hard frost the grass will become very hard and unforgiving, so may not be very comfortable for pets and children to walk on. Allow snowfall to melt naturally, as removing compressed snow can cause thinning of the pile.
What to Avoid
Avoid sharp objects on your artificial lawn such as studded shoes, high heels or spike lights as this will damage the membrane.
Avoid spilling any harsh chemicals on your lawn as this can cause discolouring.
Reflective surfaces, such as garden mirrors and hanging ornaments, should be carefully placed to avoid the potential risk of reflecting sunlight onto the lawn, as this can burn your lawn.
Keep heat sources such as BBQs, fire pits or bonfires away from the lawn as they pose a fire hazard.
Photo Credits
“Snowy Garden” by simon_music is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0