The whole point of artificial grass is to allow you and your pets to be able to enjoy your garden, having removed the effort and headache that comes with real grass.
So, it’s not surprising that your happy grass bubble soon burst because your newly installed artificial grass proved to come with a very new problem. The foul smell of pet urine odour.
Whenever you go into your garden, you’re now greeted with the unpleasant smell of dog urine. It wafts through the open windows and BBQs outdoors are less appealing.
Why isn't simply hosing the synthetic grass working?
Urine is actually made up of 95% water. The other 5% however, is composed of urea, uric acid and ammonia. This is where the real source of the problematic odours come from, along with other waste product materials such as proteins, salts, minerals and toxins.
When your pet urinates on artificial grass, the urine typically runs down through the artificial grass blades and settles on the backing mat or runds through the drainage holes in the grass settling in the crusher rock base below.
Once urine dries, it crystallises forming uric acid crystals which are the source of the urine odour. Uric acid crystals are insoluble so won't naturally dissolve when water is applied.
No amount of water, vinegar or baking soda will break down the non-soluble uric acid crystals.
These uric acid crystals react to environmental factors that worsen (high temperatures and humidity) or lessen their smell (cold weather and heavy rainfall).
How to I clean pet urine odour from artificial grass?
The good news is that those crystals are not completely insoluble or indestructible. Uric acid crystals can, in fact, be broken down by beneficial bacteria or active enzymes that consume these crystals and eliminate the urine smell for good. Turfresh artificial grass cleaner eliminates the smell and prevents it from ever reaching the nose. Best of all, it’s all-natural and safe for both kids and pets. It comes with an easy-to-use Siphon Sprayer which clicks on to your garden hose for quick, even, and hassle-free application that can be done regularly for odour elimination.
Depending on how many pets you have, how large your area is and your threshold for the urine odour, you'll quickly work out your ideal maintenance regime that suits you best.
As a rule of thumb we recommend fortnightly in the warmer months and monthly in the cooler months.
Looking for other handy tips to keep your artificial grass smelling fresh and urine odour free?
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