How to Prepare Your Artificial Grass Lawn for Summer (Guide)

Artificial grass is a low-maintenance landscaping option that allows you to have a welcoming, verdant lawn without wasting water or spending hours of your time mowing and weeding. In most cases, homeowners can do just a little cleaning and maintenance about once a month to keep their synthetic lawns looking great and ready for guests to arrive at a moment’s notice.

And, of course, in Southern California where we can entertain outdoors throughout the year, it is always nice to have easy-care outdoor living areas that require little preparation for al fresco dinner parties or weekend cookouts. Synthetic turf makes it even easier to host a party outdoors any time of the year, since it can be walked on during or immediately after rain or snow with no worries about mud and with a much lower chance of slipping.

Therefore, while this guide helps you prepare your artificial grass for the summer entertaining season, this is really a little spring cleaning for your lawn that you can do any time of the year.

Six Ways to Prepare Your Artificial Grass Lawn for Summer

1. Clean It: The first step in preparing your artificial grass for the summer entertaining season is to give it a good cleaning. Of course, when it comes to this low-maintenance landscaping option, a good cleaning usually just means spraying off dust with a garden hose and maybe raking some leaves. It is a good idea to do this about once a month to keep your lawn guest ready for impromptu gatherings.

2. Groom It: If your grass gets a lot of traffic or if you live in an area where it snows, you may notice that your synthetic turf lawn has flattened out a bit since its last grooming. This is normal and easy to remedy. Like natural grass lawns, the blades can flatten a bit in spots where there is heavy traffic. However, this heavy traffic will often make a permanent walking path in natural grass; whereas, you can simply groom your artificial turf and it will immediately look great again. You can groom your grass with a broom, brush or plastic rake.

3. Check for Weeds: Weeds are generally not an issue with manufactured lawns, which is one of the many reasons an increasing number of homeowners prefer fake lawns to natural grass. However, it is possible for weeds to grow around the edge of your lawn and, rarely, a weed or two might work their up through the small holes in the backing material. For the most part, you should not have to worry about weeds, but it is always good to check for them anyways a few times a year to keep your lawn looking its best.

4. Check Seams and Look for Damage: Synthetic turf is a durable landscaping choice that can last up to about 20 years and generally does not need repair. If it is installed correctly, you should not see any pulling, loosening or sagging spots. It is also unlikely that you will ever have any issues with seams between strips of grass coming apart or with your lawn ripping, but it is still a good idea to give it a good once over every once in a while to see if there are any issues that need attention. One thing that does sometimes happen is that homeowners forget that fire and fake grass do not mix well. If you use a fire pit or barbecue grill on or near your artificial grass, there is a chance that embers may fall onto the surface and cause small areas of damage. Fortunately, if you do happen to find any damage, artificial grass can be repaired without needing to remove and replace the entire lawn.

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5. Clean Pet Restroom Areas: Picking up solid waste and regularly rinsing areas where your pets urinate will help keep your lawn clean and avoid unwanted odors. While rinsing the area with water is usually all you need to do, every once in a while you will want to use something stronger to deodorize and more thoroughly clean their favorite spots. You can accomplish this by spraying restroom areas with a mixture of distilled white vinegar and water or with an all-natural product designed specifically for this purpose. As you prepare to have guests over more often during the summer entertaining season, this is a quick task that you will want to make sure to add to your list so that your lawn will be guest ready.

6. Add Shade: If your synthetic grass lawn is not partially or fully shaded by trees or structures and you plan on using it for entertaining, lounging with friends, or as a play area for dogs or kids this summer, you may want to consider adding some shade. Having the opportunity to get out of the sun makes hanging out outside more enjoyable, and shady areas can help protect your pets, children, and guests from potential sunburns. On particularly hot days, you may find that your artificial grass increases in temperature more than natural grass when the sun shines directly on it. You can easily remedy this by adding shade sails, a canopy or trees to create shade over your lawn.

Artificial Grass: Further Reading