March 4th, 2020 by Sarah Miles

There are lots of advantages to having artificial grass over a regular lawn: it’s maintenance-free, it’s completely flat, it looks great all year round, it doesn’t discolour, and it drains well. For pet owners this is perfect because it doesn’t turn brown when pets do their business on it, they can’t dig it up, they won’t want to eat it, and it doesn’t turn into a mud bath when it rains. Win-win, yes? Well, actually there is one little issue that our fur babies bring to artificial grass and that is that it can become a bit pongy!

If you have invested in creating a beautiful, neat artificial lawn, we’re pretty sure you’re not going to be the kind of person who will put up with it becoming a bit smelly, so what can you do?

It may help to understand why artificial grass may start to smell less than fresh. After all, regular grass doesn’t smell bad does it?

Think of your artificial lawn more like a carpet than grass. Grass grows, therefore, it is regularly cut and discarded whereas artificial grass is permanent. Also, grass has a natural smell to cover any less-than-desirable whiffs that your furry friends leave with their toileting. Even though you clean up what you can (and urine is certainly is almost impossible to spot on an artificial lawn) bacteria can start to grow and this is what is causing the pong.

If your dog or cat did their business indoors on your carpet, you would, of course, clean it with some kind of disinfectant, so why should your ‘outdoor carpet’ be any different?

But I got artificial grass because it’s maintenance-free, why should I have to clean it?

That’s reasonable logic; after all artificial grass is supposed to make our lives easier isn’t it! But don’t stress – you can easily deodorise your artificial lawn, barely breaking a sweat. Just as you would sweep the leaves off the lawn in the autumn (and some people are even known to vacuum their faux grass!) just think of disinfecting it as a periodic little job to do in the garden like pulling the weeds and giving the decking or the path the odd wash down.

Before you start dumping harsh chemicals on the lawn, be aware that you need to treat it with a little TLC. Using general household cleaning products could damage the material and be counter-productive, it could even be harmful to your pets. What you need is a dedicated product for artificial grass that will clean it without harming it.

Using a product formulated specifically for artificial grass can not only kill the bacteria but scent it as well, whether you go for a natural grass fragrance or something more floral.

Pretty Pooch Artificial Grass Cleaner Super Strength 1L

Price: £10.99

Buy Now

How do you use an artificial grass cleaner?

The process is not dissimilar to cleaning a carpet, in fact, it’s actually much easier: dilute the cleaner to the appropriate level (see label) and apply to the lawn with either a spray bottle or watering can. Let it soak for the required time (again, check the label) and then rinse with water. That’s how easy it is! Just remember to keep pets out of the way until it’s dry.

Before you know it your lawn will be clean and fragrant once more, creating the perfect space for your beloved pooch to start pooping on again!