Tips on Caring for Synthetic Grass Play Surfaces in Schools

Synthetic grass play surfaces are a hard-wearing and popular option for school playgrounds, sports ovals and multi-purpose areas. The incorporation of colourful and creative design of multi-purpose synthetic grass areas for sport and play has exploded in recent years. Social media platforms are awash with great looking and newly installed school synthetic grass playgrounds, both large & small.

To ensure these areas stay looking great for the duration of their recommended lifecycle, the core principles of maintenance apply. We’ve provided the following tips to help your synthetic grass surfaces continue to present well while ensuring they are safe and fun areas to play in.

Easy General Maintenance Tasks for Synthetic Grass Playground and Multipurpose Areas

A checklist of general maintenance tasks to protect and optimise longevity and performance includes:

• As debris and vegetation are the enemy of synthetic grass, don’t allow either of these to sit on the surface for a long time, particularly during the wetter & cooler months. We recommend all debris is removed frequently. When allowed to sit on the surface, especially when wet, this will result in vegetation breakdown, dangerously slippery surfaces and this is the first stage of the development of algae and moss.
• Be sure to monitor weeds closely, both on the synthetic grass areas and immediately outside, checking if drainage is being impeded. For further information on this please refer to: https://sportsclean.com.au/synthetic-tennis-court-drainage-tips/
• Keeping the synthetic grass pile upright is another important maintenance task. Hundreds of kids in flat soled shoes will result in the flattening of the synthetic grass pile very quickly.  Regular brushing up of pile and moving infill back into those heavy wear areas will help keep the pile upright.
• Report seam gaps and tears immediately for repair. This will stop any further damage occurring to the surface and ensure trip hazards are fixed immediately.
• Make sure there are plenty of rubbish bins nearby for kids to easily use and that they are regularly emptied.
• Sanitise small areas immediately where necessary using recommended products.
• Check your ‘Maintenance Toolbox’. Is it fit for purpose? There are a range of synthetic grass maintenance tools to assist with these tasks including an Aussie Clean Sweep for debris removal and strong bristle brooms to bush up pile. Consider if it is worthwhile having a small stockpile of infill easily available in a dry storage bin to fill ‘at risk’ areas. NEVER use a blower, as it will blast infill from the surface if not used correctly.  For further details on recommended maintenance tools see this information sheet: https://sportsclean.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Sports-Clean-Maintenance-Tips-for-Multipurpose-Artificial-Grass-in-Schools-Play-Areas.pdf     

How Sports Clean can help

Sports Clean has over 20 years’ experience in the maintenance of synthetic grass surfaces. Depending on frequency of usage and available budgets, we recommend regular servicing by a professional maintenance provider with machines to deep clean the synthetic grass surfaces. They will also monitor infill levels and fix seam repairs and tears that are required.

We also have a number of online resources available for general maintenance advice on our website: https://sportsclean.com.au/

Paying attention to all of the above will help protect these valuable school assets over the long term and ensure creative and safe play areas for children to enjoy.