Artificial Grass for Dog Owners

Don't get caught out with pungent, dog urine odour in your new artificial grass installation,

Does your installer know how to avoid or reduce the likelihood of this?

A question that we are often asked is " what is the ideal grass for dog owners?" We find this question asked more often when we are asked to quote for supplying and fitting astroturf in Ayrshire. Typically most artificial grass for sale is made of a latex backing and these grasses are usually priced lower than PU backed grasses. In our area in particular, North Ayrshire in Scotland, we find that most local landscaping companies tend to fit latex backed artificial grass at thickness of between 30mm and 40mm to very near 100% of supply and fitting jobs. What is the reason for that, I hear you ask? Well in our opinion, it could be a few reasons, perhaps the lower buying price, easy to get a hold of or maybe naivety on what is the best synthetic grass for the intended purpose. So what is the best grass for dog owners? In short a durable, hard wearing medium or short piled grass with a PU backing (polyurethane), typically between 25mm and 35mm thickness. Most grasses on the market are latex backed and nearly all of them are classed as pet friendly, but pet friendly latex grass just means that the urine won't stain the grass and it is also free from harmful elements such as lead, cadmium and zinc, so it won't harm your dog, but it is not dog urine odour friendly, contrary to what many people think. A PU backing is however the ideal solution, simply because it holds the grass blades more securely, meaning less blades are shed and it will not absorb the urine and faeces odours. PU backed synthetic grass is basically non absorbent with drainage holes which allows the fast and free draining of water/urine etc. On the other hand the cheaper more common latex backed fake grasses will absorb and hold moisture at the surface, thus holding bad odours at the top of the grass. In the colder months this might not be so noticeable, but in the warm summer days the stench of dog urine and faeces can be overwhelming. If your budget allows, PU backed grass is the way to go for dog owners. In addition to choosing a suitable for purpose grass, it is equally important to prepare your new artificial grass installation in such a way that it allows the urine etc to flow quickly away through the sub-base and away from the surface, again to minimise the chance of odours. This is normally achieved by excavating deeper into the soil, ideally at least 100mm down or even deeper if time and finances allow. Instead of using the usual cheap weed membrane, use non woven geotextile membrane laid directly over the excavation earth and NOT directly under the artificial grass or it will hold the dog urine odours. 

Non woven geotextile membrane (usually white in colour) is preferred because it is faster draining, helps stop the sub-base sinking into the earth and protects against weed growth. The sub-base for dog areas is often totally different from standard installations. instead of the usual Type 1 bottom layer, a thick layer of P-flow stone chippings is much better, as there are minimal fines/dust in it The fines and dusts in Type 1 are not ideal as they will slow down the drainage and restrict the urine flow away. A top layer of 6mm P-flow drainage stone is much preferred to sand or whin/grano dust, both of which restrict the drainage too.

Modern anti odour additives

These days, there are a range of products on the market, that are efficient at reducing or even eliminating dog urine odours. If installed correctly products such as Zeolite and Envirofill do an amazing job. Good quality enzyme/bacteria cleaners are also amazing.

In summary use a hard wearing short to medium pile grass with a good PU backing,  excavate the area as deep as possible and lay the non woven geotextile membrane directly on top of the soil, well below the artificial grass to prevent pooling of water/urine etc. Use P-flow stone chippings and 6mm P-flow drainage stone for rapid drainage. Never use sand in any part of the dog area installation because it will hold the dog urine odour which will be almost impossible to remove. If finances allow, add the long lasting anti odour sub-fills and top fill dressings.

For any of your artificial grass questions please contact Cutting Edge Artificial grass on 07745 905395 or visit us at www.cuttingedgegrass.co.uk