At some point or another most homeowners have found themselves considering replacing their grass turf with artificial turf. Let’s face it; maintaining a lawn is a lot of work. It requires regular mowing on a weekly basis and watering multiple times a week. A lawn also needs to be fertilized but different fertilizers depending on the time of the year.
A homeowner also needs to have different types of herbicides for all the different types of weeds and be able to know what weed requires what products. Not to mention that these can be costly if they choose to utilize a professional company for these services. This can make the idea of switching to an artificial turf extremely appealing.
But switching to fake grass is a big decision and a major investment. There is a lot to consider to ensure you are making the right decision for your home. Here is a list of pros and cons for replacing your grass to try to make this decision a little easier:
Pros
- No need to water or mow fertilize: Artificial Grass does not grow and so it does not need water to stay alive. Switching to artificial turf could mean eliminating the need to mow every week and the treatments needed to keep a lawn green, healthy, and weed-free. Not only does this provide an opportunity for less work, but also for lowering monthly expenses.
- A year round consistent color and thickness: Artificial grass is not alive so therefore, it does not die or become dormant. Instead it will stay green and the same thickness all year round.
- Considered more environmentally sustainable: Many environmentalists will argue Artificial Grass is the more sustainable option since you do not waste water by watering the lawn and it will not require the herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers a conventional lawn might.
Cons
- Large investment: It’s no secret that Artificial Grass is expensive. For an average 3,000 square foot suburban yard, a homeowner is looking at a price tag of upwards of $20,000.
- Typically only a portion is artificial: Because of the steep price tag, many homeowners will opt to only convert a portion of their lawn to artificial turf. This means the benefit of less maintenance goes away because the remaining lawn would still need regular mowing and treatment.
- Harbors bacteria: Unfortunately Artificial grass is a breeding ground for bacteria. Terrible infections like staph are incredibly common on these types of lawns.
- Needs regular cleaning: Because of how easily this lawn option carries bacteria, it does need regular cleaning. Homeowners will need to utilize regular antibacterial washes to cleanse their turf to prevent infections.
- Pets: It’s also important to consider if a family pet will be using this area to relieve itself and the cleaning that would require. Unlike a regular turf, you can not just pick up any #2’s and mow away the residue. Any messes left behind will have to be washed away every time.
- Does not last forever: Although synthetic turf does last exceedingly longer than regular grass types, it is not immortal. A well-maintained artificial turf will last 15-20 years and then will either need to be entirely replaced with new turf or new sod.
- Weeds can grow through it: One of the main appeals of artificial turf is a clean uniform aesthetic to your lawn. But weeds are frustratingly resilient and an artificial turf will not stop weeds from growing through. This will require herbicides to eliminate weeds. But, most herbicides can cause bleaching or staining to artificial turf that will greatly shorten the lifespan of the lawn.
Choosing to switch from a natural grass to an artificial turf option is a big decision for any homeowner. When weighing the cost of maintaining natural grass types versus the initial investment of an artificial turf, these two options will often break even.
Obviously, the actual maintenance of an artificial lawn is significantly less than a natural option.
But if the maintenance requirement is the main benefit of an artificial turf, you might consider outsourcing the mowing and treatment to professional companies.
Consider asking a professional
Gecko Green takes much of the work out of maintaining a lawn by working with homeowners to create the green, beautiful, weed-free lawn that we all want. We take all the guesswork out of lawn care by knowing exactly which products to use at the right times of the year in order to get the desired results!
We have highly trained professionals, remarkably personalized programs, and exceptional customer service that only a local business can provide. Get the beautiful lawn you deserve from the company that cares!
