Artificial Grass Maintenance - How to clean artificial grass | Perfect Grass (2024)

By Gavin Hall

Maybe one of the reasons you invested in a newartificial grass lawnwas because it requires little maintenance.

This is true but there are some regular and occasional tasks that you need to carry out to keep your grass in pristine condition. Here I will show you how to look after and clean your artificial grass lawn throughout the year. Given the right care and attention your artificial lawn can last 10 years or more.

If your artificial lawn needs a professional clean to get rid of nasty odours and stubborn stains we offer commercial grass cleaning through our sister company the Artificial Grass Cleaning Company. Take a look at their website.

1. Regular artificial lawn maintenance

To prevent debris such as leaves, sticks and soil building up on your artificial grass we suggest you use a blower once a week in the Autumn and once a month for the rest of the year. We recommend the Stihl Leaf Blower for its power and reliability. The Harris Stiff Broom or a Plastic Rake will do the trick if you don’t have a blower. We don’t recommend using a metal rake as this will damage or pull out the grass fibres. Trim surrounding trees and hedges to reduce the amount of debris falling on to the artificial turf.

Hose your lawn down with water a couple of times a year or when necessary. We recommend the Hoselock 30m Ultra Flex Hose to do this. The British weather will do the rest! If you choose to use a pressure washer to clean the grass we suggest you spray the grass gently from a distance. We use the Karcher K2 Pressure Washer. Do not try cleaning the grass like you would a patio as this could damage the grass fibres and could also damage the base of the lawn.

2. Avoid bird feeders

Keep bird feeders well away from your artificial grass. These will only encourage droppings to build up and rodents to dig at the grass below the feeder.

3. How to remove pet waste and the smell of dog urine from artificial grass

Remove any dog mess or urine with a hose. Because the grass is porous there is no risk of flooding. If you do have an issue with your grass smelling of dog wee we highly recommend using our unique ‘Dog Wee Sand‘. It took us many years trying and testing a whole variety of products before finally coming up with this relatively simple solution. Give it a go it works. Read our in depth posts on removing the smell of dog urine from your artificial grass.

4. Raise the grass fibres on your Synthetic Grass

If your lawn is walked on regularly the grass fibres may become flat. Placing heavy objects on the lawn like swimming pools, swings, slides and flowerpots will also flatten out the grass. In such cases we recommend that when you remove the heavy items you brush some Kiln Sand into your artificial grass to raise the fibres. If you have a large lawn a Power Brush can save you a lot of time. (see photo below). For smaller lawns or for those people on a budget a Plastic Leaf Rake will do the job perfectly well.

5. How to prevent weeds

Weeds should not come through your grass because a Weed Membrane should have been placed beneath the surface. However there are always weed seeds in the air that can land and germinate in your grass or grow up the sides (this is why we always make it clear it is 90% effective at preventing weeds). If you do have a few weeds in your grass you simply buy some Weedol Weed Killer that is fine to use with synthetic grasses. Make sure that you apply on a dry calm day so the rain does not wash it away or blow it on to your plants that are surrounding your lawn.

6. How to get your artificial lawn to smell like ‘real grass’

If you want your artificial grass to smell like the real thing then add some artificial grass cleaner to it and brush it in. These grass cleaners often contain the chemcial compound cis-3-Hexenal. This compound is a colourless liquid that has an intense smell of freshly cut grass. Mixed with other ingredients and bingo you are able to deliver that freshly cut grass smell. We don’t recommend using these products to cover up the smell of dog wee for example as we have found it results in a dog wee grass smell. It is best used like a perfume; You wouldn’t apply perfume or aftershave without washing first!

7. How to remove snow and ice from your artificial grass lawn

There are certain steps we recommend taking to look after your artificial lawn during the winter months when there is very cold weather or snow.

To get rid of snow from your lawn I advise using a Plastic Snow Shovel to take away the bulk of the snow and then using a Stiff Broom to get rid of the rest. It is not recommended to use salt as this will leave grit on the grass and may cause discolouration or potential drainage problems with the grit blocking up the escape for water.

There is no harm in leaving the snow on your grass either. In fact the snow can work for you and give your grass a good clean. Just remember to use a Plastic Leaf Rake or a Powerbrush to lift the fibres up once the snow has melted away. Unlike real grass lawns that will look muddy, grey and awful after snow your artificial lawn will look great again.

The melting snow will really highlight the quality of your groundworks. Good groundworks like the ones we put in will be able to cope with the snow melting and the water will drain through the grass and through the groundworks with no trouble. Poorly installed groundworks and need I say more …

Artificial Grass will not freeze

Artificial grass is a very durable product and even if temperatures plummet to -10°C or less it won’t freeze and become brittle. What might happen is water may be present on the grass fibres and this may then freeze. Like any other icy surface this will become slippy so we do suggest you excercise caution when walking on your grass at times like this.

8. How to prevent snow building up on artificial grass

If you really don’t want to have any snow accumulating on your grass there are a couple of options open to you. Firstly the budget option is to cover your lawn with a plastic tarpauline before the snow begins. Once the snow stops you can remove the plastic sheet and voila a beautiful green lawn awaits.

If you are a Premiership footballer and you have a generous budget the second option would be to install an artificial turf heating system. This would raise the temperature of the grass to prevent any snow from settling in the first place. Many football clubs use this to allow play all year round.