Approximately two-thirds of all artificial grass lawns in Vancouver are installed for homeowners with dogs (at least in our experience). It makes total sense, because dogs have a tendency to destroy natural lawns, they dig holes and then come in the house with muddy paws. If you have a four-legged friend, you might be wondering what the best practices are for maintenance and cleaning your artificial turf… Keep reading, this article is for you:
Top 7 Tips for Maintaining an Artificial Lawn with Pets:
- Hose the area down after they do their “business”. This becomes especially important during the summer months in Vancouver when we don’t get as much rain to help rinse off the turf. If you know your dog has just gone to the bathroom on the turf, it’s best to grab a hose (on the high-jet setting) and spray the area down. This really helps to drain all the urine and prevent odors.
- Buy a bottle of Turf Renu or something similar (available from BC Brick or Amazon). Simply attach the bottle on to your hose and spray down the turf. It will break down any odor-causing enzymes in the turf and leave a light fresh scent.
- Train your dog to pee in the back corner of the yard. We have heard great feedback from our clients that were able to train their dog to pee in a particular area. You can try buying a mini fire hydrant at the pet store or amazon, and place it far away from the areas where you spend the most time.
- Scoop the poop with the direction of the grass blades. You’ll notice that your turf has a “grain direction”, and you’ll want to scoop with the grain, rather than against it.
- Ensure your lawn was infilled with Zeolite or Envirofill and top them up every 3 to 5 years. Think of this stuff like what goes into a kitty litter box to keep odors at bay. Over time, the infill may get displaced from regular usage and will be less effective. Ideally, we re-apply one bag of deodorizing infill for every 100 sq ft after a few years.
- Powerbroom your turf a few times/year to get all the debris and dog hair out of your lawn. These machines can be rented at the local rental shop, or we can do it for you. Check out the image below for what we extracted from a dog-friendly turf area!
- Deep clean and sanitize the turf. If you have kids playing on the turf or wish to walk in your bare feet, you want to make sure the turf is clean and sanitary! Spray Turf Renu can help, but a deep cleaning machine is the turf equivalent of putting your clothes in the laundry machine. We invested in a commercial carpet cleaning machine and modified it specially to clean turf. Most of our clients with dogs have us come by 1 to 4 times/year for our turf cleaning service.
To learn more about our Artificial Turf Cleaning Service in Vancouver, click the link here: Turf Cleaning
This is what we extracted from just a 500 square foot lawn that had 2 dogs!
