Many property owners in the Bay Area now consider artificial turf to be a must-have – for homes, commercial properties, and municipal facilities. However, in spite of the many obvious benefits that come with switching from natural grass to fake, there are still a surprising number of myths out there. Some of them relate to winter.
Here at Heavenly Greens, we want you to have the facts about artificial grass. So now that winter is almost upon us, it’s a good time to debunk one of the most common myths about winter weather and frost. Because while snow is a rarity in our area, frost is not. But dealing with frost is as easy as caring for your faux lawn at any other time of the year.
It’s a Myth: “Frost will damage artificial turf”
If you believe that, you must be thinking about natural grass instead. Live grass can be damaged by frost, especially if the grass itself freezes. Once that happens and you walk on it, you can snap the blades right off.
Artificial turf does not freeze. It is designed for maximum durability so it can look its beautiful best every day of the year. That means it is engineered to stand up to the weather. Any weather, whether it’s frozen winter temperatures or the sweaty heat of summer. If synthetic turf gets frosty, you can walk on it without damaging the blades.
That said, we recommend you do not walk on your fake grass in frosty conditions. Here’s why. If the frost that has settled is thick enough, as you walk, your footsteps can pack it into a solid layer of ice on the grass. You may be tempted to pick off those “sheets” of ice by hand or remove them with a shovel, and this can damage the turf’s fibers.
Besides, frosty grass is slippery, and we don’t want you to fall! We love the fact that our Heavenly Greens turf products do not become slippery when wet, but ice is slippery no matter where it lies.
It’s best to allow the frost to melt or evaporate on its own
Most days, the wintery frost we see in the morning is gone by later in the day. Your artificial grass is installed with a specialized drainage system that works better than natural grass, so the frost you see will simply drain away as it melts.
We are sometimes asked by customers about using salt or chemical deicers on their fake grass. While these products will not damage the “grassy” part of your turf, they can leave residue that will damage the backing, interfering with the drainage system.
What if you’re in a hurry?
If you need to get your fake grass game-ready and don’t have time to wait around for frost to melt on its own, you can pour warm water over the grass to speed things up. Or toss some towels or blankets in the dryer to warm them up and then gently lay them over the lawn. Anticipating frost overnight? Lay a tarp over your grass to capture the frost, then simply lift it off the next morning or whenever you’re ready to play on your turf.
By the way, frost (or even heavy ice or snow) won’t damage the color or other characteristics of your artificial grass. Once the cold stuff has melted away, your grass is as green and fluffy as ever.
So bring on Old Man Winter. And Jack Frost, too. They’re old hands when it comes to winter weather, just like artificial turf.
