Cleaning artificial grass is one of the few maintenance tasks required for synthetic lawns. Indeed, one of the greatest benefits of artificial grass is that you have more time to enjoy your garden.
Gone are the days of continuous mowing, trimming, watering, and fertilising. However, there will be times when you need to give your fake lawn a clean to maintain its lush green looks.
This brief article aims to provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to clean artificial grass. It will cover regular cleaning, removing stains, and clearing snow and ice.
Regularly cleaning artificial grass is straightforward, and you only need a few tools including a broom, leaf blower, and some silica sand. once per month should be sufficient to keep your artificial grass looking lush and green all year round. You can clean your lawn in four basic steps:
Brush the grass.
Remove leaves and surface debris.
Pull out any weeds.
Replace infill.
The first step is to give the whole lawn a once over with a stiff brush or plastic rake. It’s important not to use a metal rake as these can damage the turf fibres, or even penetrate to the base layer.
If you notice an area where the fibres have been flattened, try brushing against the grain to bring the fibres upright once again. To ensure your brushing is systematic, start in one corner and brush manageable widths along the length of the lawn. This is the same principle as if you were mowing a natural grass lawn.
The easiest way to clear leaves and debris from your artificial lawn is to use a leaf blower. Blow the leaves and debris into one corner, ideally the most sheltered one. Then, you can use a dustpan and brush to collect and dispose of the rubbish. If you don’t own a leaf blower, you may have to use a brush.
If you have any moss or weeds growing on your artificial lawn, you should kill and remove them. Try to use a weed killer with a pH of 8. Once the weeds have died, you can remove them with the other debris.
Your lawn’s infill can deteriorate or diminish over time. Therefore, you may have to spread some new silica sand over your lawn. As with initially spreading your infill, make a few small piles and brush it over the whole area. If you only need a small amount of infill, scatter a few handfuls where it is needed.
You can clean spills and stains easily with a few basic implements, including a bucket, paper towels, cloth, and hand brush. Try cleaning spills and stains with the following tips:
Blot spillages with a towel as soon as possible.
Follow-up by cleaning the staining with a mixture of detergent and water.
For stubborn stains, use a small hard brush, such as a nail or toothbrush.
Depending on where you live, snow and ice may be more or less of an issue.
Quick guide: removing snow and ice from artificial grass. For instance, in colder states, you will have to deal with several inches or feet of snow. Warmer states might only experience the occasional icing during the winter.
Therefore, this section covers how to clear different levels of ice and snow from your artificial lawn. In simple terms, you deal with this winter issue as follows:
Brush away a light snowfall.
Clear heavier snow falls with a shovel.
Allow ice to melt.
To clear away a light snowfall from your artificial lawn, you can use a brush or a plastic rake. If using a rake, ensure it is plastic, as metal prongs can damage your lawn.
Sweep the snow into one corner, where you can either collect it with a plastic shovel, or leave it for your kids to build a snowman!
Clear most of the snow with a plastic shovel. Take care not to dig into the grass as this will damage the fibers. For the same reason, it is important not to use a metal shovel.
Clear away the snow until you have around one inch remaining. At this stage, follow the procedure for brushing light snowfalls.
Allow Ice to Melt
Avoid the temptation to remove ice with salt or a de-icer. Salt or the chemicals within de-icers can be corrosive for your artificial grass lawn fibres. Therefore, allow the ice to melt naturally.
You installed your synthetic grass lawn so you could enjoy your garden. The more you enjoy your lawn, the greater chance of spills and stains occurring.
Even if you are lucky enough to avoid such mishaps, cleaning artificial grass is a routine you’ll have to get into every so often. Hopefully, this short article has informed you how to keep your fake lawn clean, so you can enjoy it fully.
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