The 5 Best Vacuums for Artificial Turf

Folks in hot climates often use artificial grass or turf to beautify or just cover their rather unsightly or parched yards. Because water is almost always scarce in these dry and drought-prone places. Small wonder that not needing to water, fertilize, or mow a fake grass lawn ever appeals to many. 

But if you think artificial lawn carpets need absolutely zero maintenance, think again. Yes, these inviting outdoor spaces require less lawn care, but you never know when you’ll need the best vacuum for artificial turf. 

Note that vacuuming artificial turf or artificial grass (they’re not the same thing, more on this later) isn’t encouraged. In fact, directing strong suction on nice-looking faux turf or plastic grass is one of the many ways to damage it. 

However, it’s not such a terribly bad idea to give non-infill synthetic grass or turf a few passes with a vacuum specifically designed for that. But there are several other ways to keep your turf looking nice and well kept. 

In this best vacuum for artificial grass buying guide (and reviews), I’ll show you how to pick the right tool for the task. 

No time? Here’s my top pick: The Ergo Power Head + BBA2100 Bristle Brush Attachment. This power head/power broom combo deals with dust, pet hair, and other debris like a pro. It also shines at getting that unruly infill back into the turf’s backing. 

If you’d rather use a vacuum cleaner for artificial turf maintenance work, the Stanley SL18191P Wet/Dry Artificial Turf Vacuum is probably the finest option. It’s not too powerful that it ruins your turf. Nor is it too weak that it does absolutely nothing. Plus, it handles both wet and dry stuff. 

5 Best Artificial Grass and Turf Vacuums (Buying Guide &Reviews)

Here’s the list: 

1. EGO PH1400 Power Head +  BBA2100 Bristle Brush Attachment (Best Power Brush) 

Does your turf lawn contain dirt and debris? Does it look matted and unsightly? Try the BBA2100 attachment + EGO PH1400 power head. 

This tool tackles dust, pet hair, and other debris incredibly well. It also helps rejuvenate your turf by fluffing it up. What’s more, this power broom with a 22” sweeping swath helps work infill back into the turf base. 

The tool gets small and medium-sized turf lawns looking nice and fresh in no time. It’s definitely faster and less laborious than hand-powered brooming.

Attention! The power head and brushing system are bought separately. Here’s the link to the power head: EGO Power + PH1400 56V Lithium Ion Power Head. And here’s the link to the brush attachment: BBA2100 Bristle Attachment. 

Admittedly, the head/attachment combo isn’t cheap.

This 2-speed brushless motor also works with other tools including the EGO Power hedge trimmer, pole saw attachment, and edger attachment. It’s versatile. 

Its 5Ah lithium ion battery works for a whole miscellany of attachments. And the battery lasts, but the replacement battery is pricey.

Combined, the power head/battery/brush attachment weigh over 20 pounds. That’s a little heavy. And the ergonomic and adjustable handle helps a bit.

The build is great. And the efficient brushless motor lends itself to quiet turf work. What’s more, the power head is sealed nice and tight, making it an all-weather tool. 

Pro tips: Run this power broom against the grain of your turf. Also, avoid power brooming areas with loose turf blades to avoid further damage. And definitely don’t over-brush/over-defibrillate your grass. Here’s a video on how to correctly power-brush artificial turf. 

Pros

• Tackles debris and dust well
• No more matted grass
• Adjustable handle for greater comfort
• Brushless motor = less noise 
• Convenient, Well-made, durable product
• Wide cleaning swath 
• Battery lasts
• No cords to trip on
• 5-year warranty 

Cons

• Tool and replacement battery pricey
• Power head not included 
• Relatively heavy

Verdict: A worthy buy behind which stands a 5-year warranty. 

2.Stanley SL18191P Wet/Dry Artificial Turf Vacuum (Best Turf Vacuum Overall)

The Stanley SL18191P Wet/Dry vacuum picks up wet and dry debris well. By the way, the Stanley brand has been around since 1843. 

At a peak HP of 4 and a CFM of 75, this vacuum’s suction is reasonably strong. But the suction power isn’t so strong that it uproots your mars your turf or grass. Plus, there’s a blower port so you can use this tool to sweep off your turf. 

With a 10-gallon easy-to-empty wet debris canister, you won’t need to empty the tank very often. And the 10-feet power cord joins hands with the 6-feet hose to give you a 16-feet yard cleaning range. 

If you suck up infill during the cleaning session, the stuff will collect in the debris compartment. You can then sort out the filthy contents and redistribute the infill. But seriously, who has time for that?

This thing features 4 swiveling wheels that boost maneuverability through turfed yards.These wheels are designed to roll smoothly over hard, smooth surfaces. But rolling over turf shouldn’t be such a tall order for them. 

Consider installing the included dust collection bag before using it to vacuum dry debris such as dust. But when vacuuming wet stuff (including moisture in your turf), remove the dust bag and dry filter. 

Let the foam filter remain. If the foam insert gets saturated (you’ll see mist around the exhaust), swap it out for a dry one. Alternatively, dry the saturated filter first and then pop it back in. 

In some cases, Stanley packed the 6-feet hose, attachments, and casters inside the canister! So, fish these components out and assemble the vac if that’s the case for you. 

The attachments include 2 extension wands, a crevice tool, and a Stanley’s universal gulper nozzle for wet and dry pick-up. 

Pros

• Debris canister large enough 
• Wheels swivel 
• Not too powerful 
• Convertible to a blower
• Relatively inexpensive
• A slew of attachments for different purposes
• Versatile: blows leaves and cleans up wet spills 

Cons 

• Somewhat clunky 

Verdict: One of the best artificial turf vacuum cleaners on the market. 

3.BEBL700 BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher (Best Value)

The made-in-Canada corded/electric BLACK+DECKER BEBL7000 is a 3-in-1, no-emission garden tool. It’s a leaf picker, a blower, and a mulcher all rolled into one. 

Boasting a maximum airflow velocity of 250MPH and a suction of 400 CFM, this thing is a beast. The blower should suck up leaves well and unmat your grass without destroying your landscape’s covering. Watch this video on how to clean artificial turf or grass with a leaf blower. Note: You may still have to give the matted grass portions a single pass with a power broom. 

This backpack-style BEBL7000 mulcher/blower/vacuum balances well on the wearer’s back. Even when the debris bag is almost full, it’s comfortable to carry.

A hose connects the unit to the debris bag at the back. But some people have faced challenges detaching the bag to empty it. Fortunately, the mulch backpack offers a decent holding capacity. Chances are you won’t need to dump out the bag halfway through the clean. 

This reusable dust bag comes in a zipperless design. But some users experienced difficulty getting it closed. Here’s how to properly close this zipperless debris bag of the BLACK+DECKER BEBL7000 turf vacuum: Fold up the open end at least 3 times before clipping the ends together. 

Its solid plastic mulcher gives you a leaf reduction ratio of 16:1. That’ll save your yard waste bags. It’s not a metal impeller, but it should hold up well with moderate use.  So, avoid picking up sticks, twigs, rocks, wet leaves, pine needles, and sweetgum tree pods. 

Pros

• Features-rich, comfortable, ergonomic backpack-style design 
• Many great user reviews
• Made by a great brand
• Offers vacuum, blower, and mulching capabilities
• Reusable debris bag
• High mulching ratio + high debris bag capacity 

Cons

• Plastic impeller/fan blade
• Large sticks, twigs, and hard stuff clog it up
• Unconventional debris bag closure
• Not ideal for wet leaves

Overall, the BEBL7000 works. It provides enough leaf-blowing power to declutter your turf without ripping the blades out of the base. 

4.Greenworks 24252 (150 MPH) Cordless Artificial Turf Leaf Blower (Best Blower)

The Greenworks 24252 generates a 135 CFM leaf-blowing power moving at 150 miles per hour. Enough power to sweep dry leaves and other light debris off the surface of artificial turf or grass. 

But how well does this little beast blow wet leaves? The manufacturer says it’s great for wet debris too. However, user experience again and again disproves that claim. The tool is pretty much lame as far as that performance metric. 

150MPH sure isn’t much air speed. But it’s good enough for most standard household-size lawns. You may expect this focused turf leaf blower to outperform most 3-in-1options. 

But if you have piles of leaves heaped on your turf thanks to some giant oak tree standing nearby, pick something else. Because this blower is for small yard jobs rather than for displacing tons of yard leaves. 

This variable-speed leaf blower utilizes a 2Ah lithium battery that takes a couple hours to recharge. One full charge lasts about 25 minutes on low setting and roughly 45 minutes on high. I suggest that you set your blower to speed 1 when blowing off turf.

Pro tip: avoid leaving the blower’s lithium battery plugged in for too long. One reviewer had their battery bursting into a fireball! I suspect it’s because they left the battery recharging for too long.

Pros

• Variable speed
• Decent blower power 
• Removes dry yard debris easily 
• No electric cord getting in the way 
• Not too powerful; won’t rip out turf blades

Cons 

• Not good for blowing wet debris
• Bogus battery in some cases 

Verdict: Whether you want to blow off your driveway, sidewalk, or turfed-yard, pick this blower. 

5. Earthwise LSW70021 21-Inch Artificial Lawn Sweeper (Most Eco-friendly) 

This lightweight hand-powered yard sweeper with a 21-inch brush is the most environmentally friendly option I reviewed.  

No electric power. No battery. No gas. Just push the lawn sweeper across the turf or grass. And it’ll pick up pet fur, leaves, twigs, and other debris like a champ. It doesn’t pick up rocks and other large or heavy debris, though. 

When you push this walk-behind artificial turf lawn sweeper, the wheels roll and in turn rotate the brushes. That rotational motion of the brushes generates the force that picks up the trash. 

The debris goes to a boxy rear compartment known as a hopper. 

As for the wheels, they roll reasonably well. But they’re somewhat thin and struggle a bit when moving through tall artificial grass.

The cross-arm that supports emptying the 26-gallon debris basket could have better ergonomics, though. And a cover could help prevent collected debris from leaving the basket.  

Also, this lawn tool offers rake height adjustability through an easy-to-use height adjustment dial. The ability to manipulate brush height makes this lawn sweeping machine a multi-surface pro. No more killing your back picking up leaves, sticks, and pet hair off your turf by hand. 

This emission-free yard sweeper works for all kinds of terrains. But it works best on even/level lawns. 

Pro tip: Adjust the sweeping brushes properly before use. For the most part, setting the brush so that ¼” of it stays in the grass works best. 

Pro

• A large debris collection hopper
• Zero harm to the environment 
• Faster than using a regular broom
• Lightweight: Easy to push
• Dial-in rake/sweeper height adjustment 

Cons

• Sucks at picking up rocks, wet debris, acorns, pine cones, and sticks
• The hopper could use a cover
• May not work as great on uneven turf surfaces
• Could be cheaper

Verdict: Choose this if you prefer a noise-free and stress-free turf cleaning tool with great green credentials to boot. It’s definitely faster than regular raking, but it won’t eliminate raking or power-brushing 100%. 

If you’re in the UK, vacuums worth a mention include the Vacmaster artificial grass vacuum Cleaner. The Garden Gear 3-in-1 Artificial Grass Vacuum is another option that deserves a mention. Both options are affordable, and they’re not lame when it comes to keeping turf clean. 

How I Selected the Best Fake Grass Vacuum Cleaners

I reviewed a set of 5 faul grass vacuums that do the job without asking for too much in terms of initial investment or maintenance. But how did I handpick each of these outdoor and indoor artificial grass vacs? 

We live in a dry area. And we decided that hiding the unappealing patches of scrawny natural summer grass wasn’t a bad idea. 

Please don’t judge us. We love natural grass and don’t think microplastic-packed solutions are the best option for everyone. 

But if you lived in a dry region like us, you’d stop thinking an artificial grass lawn is the saddest invention ever created. 

We threw a small fortune at a product that the smiling grass salesperson promised would last 15 years. Will it? We’ll see. 

But the place where we’re at gets lots of dust blowing in during the dry season. And there’s a few trees on the perimeter that shed a few small leaves onto the lawn. Plus, we have young children and playful puppies who like going to the bathroom there. 

So, this outdoor carpeting gets dirty. And we had to spend more money buying cleaning supplies such as brushes, brooms, dog urine cleaners, a leaf blower, and a vacuum. Decent vacuums rarely come in cheap, so we decided to spend enough time checking out potential options in-store. 

To be clear, seeing, touching and watching a real demo aren’t in any way real testing. But at least you get to assess aspects such as sturdiness, design, and workmanship. We compared price, brand, features, specs, ergonomics, weight, and suction of 10 options. In the end, we narrowed down our search to just 5. 

We winded up purchasing two of them online because …better prices. One for ourselves and one as a gift to my parents. The other three weren’t bad at all, and I wrote every impression I formed about each in the reviews. 

Check them out and see if any seems like a good bet for your artificial turf or grass. And thank me afterward if all goes well. Otherwise, come back to Tidying Mama and tell us about the challenges you faced with the recommendations and how you defeated the downsides. 

Fake Grass Vacuum Buying Guide

You can sweep it, hose it down, mop it, or even use pet urine cleaners. And if there’s small pebbles and other similar stuff, you could even use your nimble hands to pick up. 

But when there’s tons of debris and dirt in your faux front yard or back yard, a good artificial grass vac is your best bet. 

I must say this again, though: vacuuming fake grass that has pet infill isn’t highly recommended. But if it’s infill-free (because you don’t have any furry friends around), you may safely use a fake grass-specific vacuum for the outdoor clean. 

Here’s a handy checklist for when buying an artificial turf vacuum:

When shopping for a good vacuum for cleaning artificial grass or turf, below is a checklist I hope you’ll find useful. 

1.Weight and Portability 

Make sure that the personal-use lawn vacuum or commercial turf vacuum you’re looking at isn’t too heavy. If it’s a wheeled vacuum, then weight may not be such a big selection factor. 

But if the vacuuming device is a bulky blower of leaves on turf and unnatural grass, it needs to be light enough. Fortunately, even the best commercial-grade leaf blowers with mulching capabilities aren’t too clunky. 

If it’s too heavy and bulky and lacks wheels, you’ll have to cart it out to the grass. Or even transport it via your car! 

If you clean traditional grass lawns and artificial ones for a living, portability is an important consideration. 

2.Suction and How the Turf Vacuum is Powered

While suction force is an important consideration when shopping for most vacuums, it’s not super important when cleaning artificial turf. Too much debris picking power can easily pull out infill as well as the grass itself, weakening the entire structure. 

I’m  not saying look for a weak vacuum for your fake grass. I’m saying you don’t need the strongest for the money. Instead, choose a decent vacuum or leaf blower for your manufactured lawn. One that does the job without roughing the grass too much. 

Remember, when it comes to vacuuming an artificial lawn, you never want to do it too frequently. 

4.Height Adjustability

Height adjustability is a great-to-have feature when it comes to buying a turf cleaner. If you choose a unit with a telescopic handle, short and tall members of the household can use the tool. 

Many options on the market today offer this cool feature. Be sure to check the item’s description on Amazon or on the manufacturer’s website for details. 

5. Is the Thing Too Loud? 

Your neighbor probably owns a regular lawn, and he wonders when you’ll do something about the outdoor carpet you recently bought. Because it’s beginning to lose color in some areas, and there’s an avalanche of debris and leaves on your lawn. 

But here’s the thing: if you opt to vacuum the man-made turf, please don’t do it at 3.am.! I mean, your neighbor is deep-sleeping at that ungodly hour. And if you’re using a turf vacuum that’s as loud as a race car engine, you’ll disturb them. You’ll get a nasty look when they wake up in the morning if they won’t sue you in the first place. 

Manufacturer-stated vacuum noise level ratings aren’t always a reliable number. I suggest you read a few reviews of the actual item you wish to purchase before buying. 

6. Choose a Bagless Model for Lawns With Infill

Why pick a bagless vacuum when shopping for an artificial grass vac? It’s because infill, leaves, and everything will collect in this debris canister. 

So, if you decide to ignore good advice and vacuum fake turf that has infill, the infill ends up in the dust canister. And you have to manually separate the leaves and other debris from the infill. 

Afterward, you must locate all the areas that need topping up and do the work. Are you sure that’s how you want to spend the rest of your Saturday afternoon? Me neither. 

3.Price and Brand

Definitely buy what you can afford. There’s plenty of decent $150-$250 artificial turf vacuums on the market. In this price range, expect to get something that does the job and lasts a couple of years. 

As for brand, that’s not super important. In fact, one vacuum technician in a Reddit AMA believes brands aren’t super important. But the technician goes on to identify a few vacuum brands that keep falling apart. 

Some of the unworthy brands the Redditor mentioned include Kirby, Bisell, and surprisingly, Dyson. I bet the person knows what they’re talking about, but there’s certainly good vacuums made by these brands. Actually, there’s hordes of Dyson, Kirby, and Bisell fans out there who won’t buy anything else. 

In the end, it’s best to choose an artificial grass vacuum in your range, one that works well regardless of who made it. Unless the manufacturer has such a bad reputation on the web and offline that you shouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole. 

What’s the Best Way to Clean Artificial Turf

How do you get debris out of artificial turf? The best way to remove light-ish debris such as small wet spills and dust from fake grass or turf is to light-rinse the mess with a garden hose. For larger debris strewn all over the lawn including leaves, blooms, and pet hair, broom or brush them up. Make sure that the broom or brush features soft bristles. 

Hosing down stuff works best when you do it immediately after the incident. If you wait too long the spillage will dry up and become a tad harder to remove. Removal may require you to brush the dirt off using mild soap and water. 

Thankfully, artificial grass and turf are designed using stain-resistant compounds. So, you never need to use harsh chemicals. Harsh chemicals are a no-no when it comes to cleaning human-made grass. 

Also, you never want to use a metal rake or a broom having metal bristles. Such cleaning tools end up destroying the structural integrity of the lawn material. Instead, use a flexible lawn rake or a special rake (usually made of plastic) for the clean. 

If you’re in a hurry and can use the right vacuum or pressure wash carefully, you can also vacuum or press wash filthy artificial grass. 

But…

Can You Really Vacuum Artificial Grass? 

Here’s one question homeowners keep asking: Can you actually hoover artificial grass? Can you regularly vacuum a turf children’s playground, a backyard play area, or a bocce ball court? 

The answer is a straight NO for the most part. And there’s reasons for that. While artificial grass and turf are super tough and can take tons of daily abuse, vacuuming these products is a bad idea.  

But why is it a bad idea? Because there’s pet infill around the base of the grass. And a turf vacuum with powerful suction can pull the infill out. Plus, topping up the removed infill can be a pain in the you-know-where. Spotting areas that need replenishing isn’t easy at all. 

Another reason artificial lawncare service providers frown upon hoovering or regularly vacuuming is grass removal risk. 

Good suction is often desirable, but when frequently subjected to plastic grass strands, everything loosens up and sags. In the end, you get a damaged lawn that needs expensive and extensive repair work to restore. 

For these reasons, it’s best to use a vacuum on artificial grass or turf when absolutely necessary. Not all kinds of fake grass can be vacuumed, so make sure your grass type can actually be vacuumed or even pressure-washered. 

In the final analysis, you may vacuum a non-infill manufactured lawn. But even then, you want to be careful so you won’t overdo it. 

How to Deep Clean Artificial Turf

Deep cleaning your plastic grass or turf should be an integral part of your cleaning schedule. 

But how often should you brush artificial turf? Cleaning experts recommend giving synthetic turf a good deep clean at least once every year. Twice a year if the turf gets more frequent use. 

The best way to deep clean artificial turf is to use a mechanical brush or motor-driven broom. 

One big reason to brush up or broom up your manufactured is that it’s super effective. It’s even more effective than vacuuming using a regular vac. This annual process aims at removing small and large debris. Watch this video to learn how power brushing turf works. 

Another reason to brush up turf is to address flat spots and wear that happens around high-traffic spots. Brooming up/brushing up turf or grass is a great way of fluffing the grass blades back up. When that happens, the grass stops looking matted and regains that good-as-new appearance. 

If you’re cleaning a playing field, infill replenishment is essential. It’s a time-consuming process that also involves correctly compacting the infill and making sure no surface inconsistencies remain. Because inconsistencies on turf tennis courts and other high-performance play areas can adversely impact the overall player performance. 

Over-compaction negatively affects traction, and most games rely on grip to a substantial extent. Aside from that, too much compaction tends to encourage algae growth, which isn’t a desirable outcome. 

Also, some playfield maintenance crews use ultra-powerful magnets to remove metal debris from the field. That ensures that players unleash their A game without getting cuts and injuries. 

If there’s bacterial buildup in some areas and odors, use safe turf cleaners such as Urine Zero. Read how to use this cleaner to freshen up pet-frequented areas. 

How Often Do You Clean Artificial Turf?

The cleaning frequency depends on how much use the turf or grass sees each week. Is it a kids’ playground or football pitch that receives tons of foot traffic on a regular basis? If that’s the case, schedule to give the playground a quick rinse with a garden hose once every week. This helps address dust and light debris such as small blooms. 

But if your grass handles light use, you can get away with much less cleaning. Rinsing the fake lawn 1-2 times each month should suffice. If the summer ushers in lots of dust, you may have to bump up lawncare frequency a bit, though. 

The weekly cleaning schedule recommended for light-use fake turf may not be enough. Experts recommend deep cleaning artificial turf at least once every 3-4 months. And if it’s a heavy-use lawn, the recommendation changes to roughly once each month. 

How Do You Remove Dog Urine Smell from Artificial Turf? 

As for pet smells from pet poop and pet urine , it’s best to work a good environmentally friendly cleaner such as Urine Zero into the affected spot. Before you apply the pet safe cleaner to the area, hose it down. This dual-pronged cleaning approach removes urine smell completely.

How Unit Zero Permanently Removes Pet Urine Odor from Turf

We could keep our two dogs and a few rabbits from playing on the lawn, but we don’t. Because they too like having fun and savoring the little joys of life. They also use a portion of the lawn carpet as their potty area. The spot would be smelling awful if we did nothing about it. 

We use Urine Zero, and all we have for it is deserved praise. But is Urine Zero an effective artificial turf odor remover? Yes! This is what we use to save our noses from awful dog urine odors. It works like nothing we’ve used before a friend recommended the cleaner. 

Here’s how Urine Zero works: Unlike many of its ludicrously cheaper alternatives, Urine zero lets loose trillions of microbes to attack the odor. These microbes feast on the ammonia in the urine. Since these ammonia from odor-causing bacteria is what causes the odor, eating it up solves the problem. 

Correct way to use Urine zero to remove pet urine odor in artificial turf: 

Step 1: Clean the affected spot thoroughly using mild detergent and water. Alternatively, rinse the area using a garden hose. 

Step 2: Mix the cleaner with water in the ratio of 1:9. 

Step 3: Apply the mixture on the affected area using a pump sprayer or hand sprayer. Make sure to saturate the spot completely or the mixture won’t be effective. The manufacturer says application should happen at dusk for maximum effectiveness. 

Step 4: If the stinky spot has remained untreated for long, add in more solution than you normally would. 

If you made the mixture correctly, the odor should be gone the next morning. 

Avoid Artificial Grass Deodorizers That Mostly Mask Odors

Some homeowners choose to use cheap deodorizing substances to tackle lingering urine odor. Most of these products promise loads of odor elimination power but only deliver insignificance. 

For the most part, what cheap artificial turf deodorizers do is mask odor. These typically aren’t microbe-based products. And when they claim to contain millions of microbes, they don’t provide a whole lot of these good odor eaters.  

In the end, they don’t address the root cause of the unpleasantness. Most don’t work. Use Urine zero instead. It sure works. 

Can I Use a Leaf Blower on Artificial Grass?

Yes, you can use a leaf blower on artificial grass. However, if the leaf blower is too powerful or if you blow away leaves off the surface too frequently, it can be counterproductive. 

The repeated action of ultra-powerful suction often ends up weakening the structure of the turf. 

As noted above, vacuuming isn’t the most recommended way of cleaning this kind of outdoor space. And the same goes for leaf blowing.

Don’t blow leaves off the surface of the grass if there’s sand infill. Unless you like making hefty turf repair payments. Spare your massively mighty leaf vacuum with a blower for unblocking clogged drains. 

By the way, is artificial turf and artificial grass one and the same thing? 

Artificial Turf vs. Artificial Grass: What’s the Difference? 

What’s the difference between artificial grass and artificial turf if there’s a difference at all? Both kinds of grass are similar in a number of ways, but there’s a few differences. Artificial grass is taller and softer compared to turf, and the better ones look like real grass, at least from far off. 

Typically jungle green in color, artificial turf consists of shorter strands of plastic grass, and this grass type is designed to take abuse at whatever magnitude. 

Whether you throw the running feet of bocce ball players, soccer players, or golf players at this grass, it holds up well. Its taller, fluffier counterpart is quite tough and durable, too. But turf trumps fake grass in the toughness department. 

To be clear, though, both types of grass will last long if you give them proper care and maintenance. 

Artificial lawn is commonly used by homeowners living in desert-like locations where water scarcity is a perennial problem. 

Sure, some households install backyard turf playgrounds for kids or even putting greens for putting games. But synthetic turf (the shorter, less fluffy type) is less common outside of the athletics scene. 

Although fake turf has a stylishly nappy look, it’ll always have a hard time passing itself off as natural grass. 

Advantages of Artificial Turf and Grass

If you’re sitting on the fence on whether to invest in human-made grass, below is a list of reasons that convince many homeowners. 

1. With either type of fake grass, you never need to do any kind of watering. That’s a big reason that appeals to folks living in places where water is a scarce resource. 

2. Fake grass is definitely unnatural and will never look like the real thing to the discerning eye, but the best types look really nice. 

3. Once you install artificial grass, mowing will become completely unnecessary. You won’t need to buy an expensive lawn mower or spend an entire afternoon cutting grass. 

If you have a second home and don’t want lawn service entering the property in your absence, go with 

4. You no longer have to deal with grass pollen, which makes this landscape cover the allergy sufferer’s go-to choice. 

5. The water table under your yard will love you more for not polluting it with chemicals and factory-manufactured grass fertilizers.

6. Fake grass is the quickest and surest path to an evergreen lawn. 

Reasons Not to Install an Artificial Lawn 

1. These lawns can make a huge dent on your bank account. You’re paying somewhere in the range of $8-$15 per square foot installed, and these numbers can really add up. 

2. Even though some kinds of unnatural grass look pretty much like the real deal, they never quite get there. 

3. Maintenance sure isn’t as involved as it is in the case of natural turf. But you still have to clean it, top up infill, rinse wet spills before they dry up, and repair damaged or worn areas.

4. Plastic pollutes the environment. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, plastic bags need at least 1,000 years to undergo complete degradation. 

5. If you have dogs and pets around, maintaining artificial turf can be really hard. You have to remove the poop and also deal with the resultant smell which worsens when it’s hot outside. 

6. Artificial turf can and does get really hot when it gets hot outdoors. It probably won’t catch fire no matter how hot it gets. But window glare from your home or your neighbor’s house can cause burns to the turf. 

What’s even worse, storm water washes away plastic debris which end up in various water bodies. These environmental pollutants wind up in streams, lakes, ponds, and oceans. And when innocent seat turtles ingest this plastic waste thinking it’s food, over 30 percent of them die. Yes, that’s how bad it gets.  

Wrapping Up

Once you install the right grass or turf in your yard, start showing it some tender loving care. With proper maintenance, your grass will always look good. And there’s a decent chance it’ll last years. 

So, pick the best vacuum for turf care and get down to work. Or use the finest power broom you can afford.