While salt can be used on artificial turf, it is generally not recommended. Over time, the residue from the salt can build up and reduce proper drainage through the backing material.

Your best bet is to rake the pine needles off of the artificial grass. Be sure to use a plastic rake, since metal rakes can damage the backing material. If you find that you have pieces of pine needles that are too small for the rake to pick up, you can also used a soft-bristled brush or broom to remove debris from your lawn.

Diana

Hi Paul,

My research indicates that over the counter weed killers will not damage Artificial Grass. I would however call the manufacturer of your turf to just to make sure and to ask the advice of the manufacturer. It is a common scenario to have weeds on the outer edge of the turf where it is easiest for them to grow at the edge of the compacted base line that your turf is nailed and secured into. However, if you are experiencing weeds in places other then the edges I would recommend calling your installer to lift the turf to see if the weeds are creeping in from the edges to the center or if they are aggressive and climbing through the base where the turf is nailed down then this is a separate issue. We experienced a project that had clovers growing through the base at the insertion area of the nails. We had followed all of the proper procedures for the installation and the homeowner said they had never seen clovers growing there in the past. We had to lift the turf and compacting base and treat the area with weed killer again and then install an extra layer of weed cloth. When prepping of an area for Artificial Grass the roots of the weeds or crab grass may end up lying dormant under the area of prepping. If you know your weeds or crab grass as being aggressive you could begin treating the grass and weed area with weed killer several weeks before the installation. Maybe once a week for a three week period. Also, as an added measure of protection for a repair of an area, 5 millimeter plastic can be placed on top of your native soils prior to reinstalling the compacted base. In my eight years of working with Artificial Grass I have only experienced two cases of aggressive weeds out hundreds of installations. The one was a small patch of clover measuring 5’x5′ and the other was and area of 1,000 square feet that required lifting turf, peeling back the weed cloth and treating the base with weed killer once a week for a three week period. This corrected the problem with minimum damage to the base work and with no call backs for repair (this was with another company that I worked for). Artificial Grass is an excellent low maintenance solution to beautifying your yard and home that saves water and weekly upkeep but the key is “low maintenance” vs. “No Maintenance”. Even Artificial grass will require a small amount of your attention but it is well worth it when compared the costs and time associated with maintaining sod.

Hope this helps!

Hi Don,

Thank you for contacting us. One of the best things you can do is call your local rental yard company and let them know that you need a power broom for your artificial grass. Here in San Diego County, All Masonry Supply is one place that rents power brooms. What part of the country do you live? I could maybe help better if I know your geographical location.

Hello Ryan,

Thank you for finding our information and for contacting us for help.

By “soft spots” I assume you mean that the turf is maybe dipping in spots or getting some small “sink holes”.

If it is a matter of compacting the base then the turf would need to be lifted. This involves removing the nails without ripping the turf and then pulling the turf back.

Make sure they used compacted class 2 road base and not 100% DG. DG is great on top of the base but used alone as the foundation it may not hold compaction well. You might be able to get away with using a hand tamper for re-compacting the base and then lay the turf back down. Nail it in using new nails, seam it if you have seams. If they did seam and used glue then this is another obstacle to overcome when peeling the turf back.

You will then probably have to rent a broom to power sweep the turf.

What area of the country do you live. I would consult a local company to try to fix it. It may be money well spent to have it done. If you are in San Diego County, Orange County or Riverside County we could help.

Thank you,

Ronald.

We had our turf installed a couple of years ago and it has been great. Occasionally there will be a few “soft spots” in our yard. These have been repaired by the company who installed the turf in the past, but now that it is out of warranty I want to do it myself. What do you recommend doing about these soft spots?

Hi Ginia,

I have not heard of a vacuum, however, I did a little Google search and found this one: http://www.rewci.com/turf-vacuum.html#.UopTaEBFzqs.gmail. The product on the site is not available until next spring, but on the page there is a link for a product they sell that is by Shop Vac. I contacted several of our suppliers as well to see if they had any more insight about a vacuum for turf and unfortunately they did not. They all had the same concerns in regards to the vacuum potentially sucking up all the infill which would not be ideal.

Sorry I wasn’t more help, however, if we do come across something in the future we will be sure to reach out to you. Thanks again for getting in touch and have a great day!

Hi Kathy,

Glad to hear you are loving your artificial grass installation. As far as weed killers, there are many brands on the market and most of them are great, where the only difference is the label on the product. Our installers mostly use Roundup for our installations.