Is Artificial Lawn a Good Idea?
Yes, it’s a great idea! And, we’re here to tell you why. We’ll list a few disadvantages of artificial grass at the end of the article too if it makes you feel better, because you can at least tell yourself you weighed both options. You’re probably reading this because you have interest in getting artificial grass to solve some lawn problem.
Our philosophy is if you are unsure, you might as well just try it in your backyard somewhere and see how it goes. What do you have to lose?
We’ll list our reasons of why we think it’s a good idea.
Artificial Grass is Low Maintenance
After you have it installed you don’t need to water it regularly. You don’t need to seed it. You don’t need to fertilize it. You don’t need to call Company X to come spray it with weed killer or other chemicals. You don’t need to edge it. Now, let’s be realistic, it’s not that you never have to do anything. For example, you may have to rake or blow off some leaves. But, you need to do that on real grass too. If your dog pees or poops on it, you may need to clean it off. Pee is easier to clean because most artificial grass if installed properly will just drain the pee through, and it is so durable you don’t need to worry that it will turn your grass brown like real grass. If your dog poops on your new synthetic lawn you do need to clean it up quickly, but just hose it off and you’re good to go. In summary, your artificial lawn is really low maintenance.
Worse case hire a landscaping company to come keep your artificial lawn and landscape clean. I mean it’s easy effort for them, and you might have had a company come every week or every other week anyway.
You save water because a synthetic lawn doesn’t require water.
Let’s face it your grass is fake. It doesn’t need water to survive. It won’t ever turn brown in the winter, it won’t turn yellow because of lack of water. If you have lived in El Paso long enough you’ll understand that water conservation is something that is important to the community. Do the environment a favor and don’t waste water on trying to compete with your neighbors and friends on whose lawn looks better.
Artificial Grass is VERY durable
Many wonder how long it will last. There are a few factors that may affect the longevity, but on average it can go beyond 20 years. It is made to be walked on, trampled on and take direct sunlight. We installed a slackline in our backyard, and if you have never seen one it is awesome and like a quick set of monkey bars that you can setup between two trees. Well the kids absolutely loved it, and were outside jumping and trampling on the same spot of grass, and guess what? You guessed it, the grass died. We decided to put artificial grass in that area and it fixed the problem. This same principal would work if you setup a little mini play set or playscape for your kids in your backyard.
Have you ever had a patch of area where the grass just wouldn’t grow? Well it can sometimes be from a shaded area that never gets enough sunlight. Well real grass needs sunlight. So, you can fix this problem by putting artificial grass down and then never worry about a patchy looking lawn.
Faux Grass Looks Great and Beautiful!
Have a beautiful and perfect looking lawn all year long! It’s drought resistant, winter freeze resistant and heat resistant. You don’t have to look outside and think, ugh I have to go mow and it is looking a bit long. Or, ugh it’s a bit brown. You can look outside and think. Wow! That’s awesome and beautiful. A lot of people think fake grass is like astroturf or artificial turf that people play sports on. Well although people use the terms artificial grass or artificial turf interchangeably, it’s actually different. Artificial Grass nowadays looks VERY real, and often better than real grass. Feel at ease that when an El Paso Artificial Grass installer comes by for a FREE estimate they will show you samples.
You can style your artificial lawn so much easier!
You can design your lawn a lot better, then not worry about edging. You can make your lawn look like a checker board, or you can contour it around your pool.
No More Gross Pesticides and Fertilizer Chemicals!
If you’re worried about lingering pesticides from lawn treatment and maintenance companies that spray your grass, worry no longer. This is now unnecessary. We always told our kids not to go outside after CompanyX came and sprayed. And now we no longer have to worry.
Great for Under Trampolines
This is the same concept we mentioned above under the durability. Often real grass dies around playsets and trampolines. So, install fake grass for your trampoline and not worry about the grass dying and left with an ugly dirt spot.
Great for Pools!
Chlorine from pool water splash does not damage artificial grass. Something to keep in mind though is that residue from pool water chemicals can create a buildup of a substance that is from calcium. If you do see a white looking residue don’t worry. You can use a calcium cleaner to brush it off and then hose the area off with water.
You can try one of our favorite products called Turf Renu. See the link below. You can also buy it on Amazon.
Another common cleaner, and one that is much cheaper is just use a 1:1 ratio of Vinegar and Water Ratio. Just take 1 cup of household vinegar, 1 cup of water, and half a tablespoon of dish soap and put it in a spray bottle.
Read the below article.
Disadvantages 🙁
Okay, as I promised it’s time for a few disadvantages.
- Artificial Grass is Low Maintenance but not NO maintenance You may still need to rake it with fallen leaves, clean animal poop or dried animal poop. But, like anything this is still lower than a real lawn.
- Artificial Grass can get a little hotter than real grass if it is in direct sunlight. One way to mitigate this is to spray some water for a few minutes to cool off the area, or put an umbrella over it. Even if you use water it is way less needed versus actually watering your lawn.
- Artificial Grass can get damaged from reflective focused sun rays like a magnifying glass on ants! But, there are ways to mitigate this. We’ll dedicate an article later to this. But just ask your installer for tips to avoid this. There is nothing to worry about. It’s like anything, be aware and take precautions and your beautiful artificial lawn will be fine.
Summary
Well, in conclusion, I hope you enjoyed reading this article. I hope it helps in your decision making. There are definitely more pros than cons. Also, I think if you really want it, don’t wait. Just call us and get a free estimate. It’s worth trying it in your backyard in an area, and if you like it. Get more of it. We know you’ll enjoy it, and wish you would have installed artificial grass earlier. Why wait? Start enjoying it now!
You’ll have something to talk about at your next friend gathering or party:)
