Washed silica sand works great as artificial grass infill material but may not be ideal for your needs, especially if you have pets! If your pets regularly use and soil your turf area, consider using a pet deodorizing material as infill to help curb pet odors.

There are numerous pet deodorizing products available to use as turf infill; some absorb and disperse the odors, almost like kitty litter and others have built in odor fighting technology without absorption. Either can be used as a replacement for regular silica sand. Although a bit more expensive compared with silica sand, pet infill material will work much better at fighting pesky pet odors.

Here are some additional tips:

To further fight those strong ammonia smells your pet leaves behind, use an odor neutralizing spray. When used regularly in conjunction with pet infill material those pet odors don’t stand a chance! Keep your synthetic grass looking its best and smelling nice by always pick up after your dog. At first sign of doggie deposits, clean it up, rinse the area and flush it out with an odor neutralizing product followed with plain water. This helps the smells get into the pet infill where it does the work. Regularly soaking and flushing your turf will help dissipate pet odors. During our hotter summer months here in the desert, you may notice those strong odors return. On the flip-side you probably don’t notice them as much during our monsoon season and there is a reason for that. The monsoon rains help to flush out and disperse those smells. Once we start getting in our hot/dry days, help your turf out by regularly wetting down your turf area and flush out those strong smells. To help your pet infill work at its full potential, it is important to clean up any debris as soon as possible before it becomes embedded in your turf. This can create a barrier between your pet infill and it may not work at its best. This build up can also lead to improper drainage which can lead to mold and mildew (not so much here in the hot and dry desert) as well as trap those pet smells on the surface of your turf! Regular raking and blowing away of debris should take care of most of this (depending on how long you wait) but sometimes you’ll need a deeper clean to remove the build up of compacted organic debris.

Remember, artificial grass is LOW maintenance. Not NO maintenance! Treat your turf investment like newly installed carpet and keep it clean, just don’t vacuum it!

You’re not on your own when it comes to maintaining your pet’s playground. Contact Keep It Up Artificial Turf Care today to schedule a free consultation!