Artificial grass has changed considerably since its first introduction a few decades ago. Quality manufacturing, considerable warranties, and significant environmental benefits have changed people’s perception of synthetic grass. It is pretty clear that it is a cost-effective and low-maintenance alternative to natural grass. However, to give you a balanced perspective, this article aims to outline both the pros and cons of synthetic turf.
Of course, we are firm believers in artificial grass, but it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t give you both sides of the argument. However, we think you’ll clearly understand which side the scales tip without wanting to give the game away.
Therefore, let’s take a look at these pros and cons, so you can make the right decision on whether to purchase artificial grass for your garden.
19 Benefits of Installing Artificial Grass
1. Reduce Your Water Bills With Artificial Grass.
How much you pay for water depends on where you live. The size of your garden also affects how much you will spend watering your natural lawn. Regardless, you can save money by switching off your hose pipe or lawn sprinkler system.
Of course, doing so means your natural lawn will soon dry out during hot weather. You do not need watering to maintain its looks with artificial turf, thereby saving money.
2. Save On Water Usage
Saving water benefits you financially, but you are also doing good for the wider environment. Indeed, a lack of water can result in your natural grass entering a dormant state in some states. This will lead to brown or bald patches on your lawn. Fake grass is an ideal solution to this unsightly issue.
3. Artificial Grass Is Low Maintenance
Most people love having a beautiful garden, but not as many enjoy the effort involved in keeping it looking good. A natural grass lawn is high-maintenance, requiring continuous mowing, watering, seeding, weeding, and fertilizing.
Indeed, you will likely spend more time maintaining your natural grass than enjoying it. With artificial grass, you have a low-maintenance option for your garden. All it needs is the occasional brushing and hose-down. You could also apply a synthetic grass cleaner a couple of times a year.
4. Less Garden Equipment Needed With Artificial Grass
Of course, with the amount of maintenance required on a natural lawn, you will need more garden equipment to carry this out. Some of the tools you’ll need to maintain your natural lawn include a lawnmower, strimmer, rake, shears, lawn scissors, sprinkler, and others.
Artificial grass lawns require only a couple of essential tools. You can keep your fake grass looking great with just a brush and a hosepipe.
5. No Pesticides With Artificial Grass
Moss and weeds are a constant inconvenience to natural lawn owners. Many people resort to pesticides to keep their lawns looking good. However, many of these treatments have potential health threats to humans and wildlife.
Although moss can still grow on synthetic turf, many artificial grass cleaners are 100% biodegradable and have neutral pH levels. Therefore, you can be assured there are no harmful side effects from your fake lawn.
6. Artificial Grass Has UV Protection
Synthetic grass has excellent UV protection. Therefore, it will maintain its lush green looks all year round. Compare this to your natural turf, which fades and goes bald in strong sunlight.
7. More Relaxation Time
The real beauty of an attractive garden is being able to enjoy it. Artificial turf is ideal if you want to spend more time relaxing and less time maintaining your garden.
8. Safe Play Area for Kids
Artificial grass provides an excellent surface for kids’ play areas. Its layering provides cushioning to protect your children from trips and falls. Alternatives such as bark tend to get moved around us children play, leaving bare patches. Also, rubber padding can become hot and smell unpleasant in hot weather.
9. Artificial Grass Is Pet-Friendly
If you are a pet owner, there are many benefits to using artificial turf. Natural grass lawns are affected by your pet’s toilet habits. The ammonia within their urine causes brown patches and bald spots on natural grass. However, artificial grass is unaffected. All you have to do is hose it down occasionally to keep it fresh and clean.
10. Say Goodbye to Mud
With artificial grass, muddy footprints and paw prints are a thing of the past. An artificial lawn’s layers prevent wet mud from seeping up to the surface. Therefore, you will not have muddy puddles for children or pets to play in and then hike dirt around your home.
11. Artificial Grass Leaves No Grass Stains
The synthetic fibers of your synthetic grass lawn mean you will have no more grass stains on your clothing. Now, your children’s clothing can stay clean and bright for a bit longer.
12. Cut Down Allergic Reactions
Grass allergies are common, particularly during the summer months when grass grows quicker and pollen is released during mowing. Allergic reactions to grass pollen make it challenging to enjoy your garden.
Synthetic grass is an ideal solution for sufferers of grass allergies. You’ll have no concerns about the rashes and itches from grass allergies with no pollen.
13 Artificial Grass Is Ideal For Rental Properties
If you are a landlord, you might not have the time for garden maintenance. Therefore, you might have to pay for a professional garden service to keep your garden looking good.
Even though you might not use the garden, you still need to keep it well-maintained for your tenants. Therefore, installing artificial grass can save you considerable time and hassle.
14. Sorting Out Shaded Areas
To maintain the lush green looks of a natural lawn, it needs to receive around six hours of sunshine each day. However, you will likely have shaded areas around your garden. Placing natural turf in these locations can lead to it deteriorating.
Therefore, you should consider artificial grass to sort out any shaded areas around your home. The beauty of artificial grass is that it maintains its good looks regardless of the weather or amount of sunshine.
15. Multi-use
So far, we’ve only discussed artificial turf as an alternative to a natural grass lawn. However, synthetic grass is suitable for other uses, including covering decking, dog runs, and play areas.
16. Less Hassle as You Age
Maintaining a large lawn when you are young and fit is challenging enough. However, the workload increases as you get older. Installing an artificial grass lawn will drastically reduce your amount of garden chores.
17. Maintains Its Looks
As previously mentioned, synthetic turf maintains its looks regardless of the weather conditions. Therefore, you will have the look of lush green grass all year round.
18. Weatherproof
How often have you been told to keep off the grass because it has become waterlogged? A planned event on a natural lawn can often turn into a quagmire after a downpour of rain. Artificial grass is weatherproof and dries quickly, meaning you’re unlikely ever to have to avoid using it because of a drop of rain.
19. Color Choices
With synthetic turf, you can pick your green grass’s tone, density, and richness. Also, you can choose some different fiber types ranging from wispy grass stems to more dense sports field turf.
Things You Might Miss About Natural Grass
Despite the significant benefits of installing synthetic grass, there are a few things that you might miss about not having a natural lawn. Let’s look at five things that put some people off making the switch to synthetic grass.
Initial Capital Outlay
Installing a synthetic turf lawn involves a capital outlay. This initial spending prevents some people from following through on their plans. When considering the amount you spend on installing your artificial grass turf, consider the longevity you will have from artificial grass.
Also, consider the minimal maintenance and savings on water, power, and equipment costs. Having made a fair comparison, your initial outlay may not seem quite so significant.
Installation Process
The hassle of installing synthetic turf can be enough to put people off from getting it done. Even people who have decided to install artificial turf delay their project until it’s completely convenient. Often, this time never arrives.
When you’ve decided that artificial grass is for you, bite the bullet and install it as soon as possible. Remember, the longer you have it, the more opportunities to enjoy your garden. Also, getting it done as quickly as possible means you can start saving on the course of maintaining your natural grass lawn.
It’s Cheating!
Many professional gardeners view artificial grass as a form of cheating. They believe you cannot be a proper gardener unless you use a natural product.
That’s all well and good for them to say. However, professional gardeners are not the ones who are spending their spare leisure time maintaining a garden. Also, they have a vested interest in more people having natural lawns, as they have more potential customers.
No Grass Smell
This point is difficult to argue. Many people love the smell of newly mown grass, and this is something you will not get with sythetic turf. However, along with the smell of grass comes grass pollen. If you are allergic to grass, its smell can be a warning sign of itchiness and rashes.
Habitat Removal
Removing your natural lawn and replacing it with artificial grass will undoubtedly remove some habitat for small wildlife. However, you will hardly be threatening the bald eagle or a grizzly bear should you replace your natural grass with a synthetic lawn.
Of course, the worms, bugs, and insects that have me at home in your natural grass may have to find new homes.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article will have made you aware of the benefits of synthetic turf and highlighted a few things you may miss about removing your natural lawn. Please get in touch with us today if you require any more information about installing, maintaining, and caring for your artificial grass lawn.
