One of the most important points you should discuss with your artificial grass supplier is the choice of infill. Just like you when you have a carpet fitted in your home, your synthetic turf needs an underlay. Artificial grass suppliers call it an infill.
The Different Types of Synthetic Grass Infill
The type of infill you choose affects the appearance and durability of the grass. Synthetic turf infills mainly have two purposes:
- Support: Infill supports the fibre and helps to keep the grass upright.
- Stability: The infill provides stability making sure that your turf stays in place. Good stability is particularly important in busy areas such as children’s play areas and seating areas. Artificial grass can also move as the temperature goes up and down. A good quality infill will prevent that from happening.
The Best Infill For Play Areas
Whether you have children or pets, you will probably find that they have a favourite play area in your garden. You can help to protect both the grass and the well-being of kids and pets by choosing an antimicrobial infill.
Antimicrobial infills offer extra good drainage and also help to prevent smells and odours. If you have a very busy play area, you may want to hose it down at least once a week. If so, it is important that the infill can drain any water away quickly. The last thing you want is to end up with puddles or standing water in this part of your garden.
How long will your infill last? Providing you look after your antimicrobial infill, it can last as long as 15 years. Your artificial turf supplier will give you maintenance advice.
Best Infill For Landscaping
When it comes to landscaping larger parts of the garden, you may want to choose a different infill. It is important that any infill in landscaped areas looks very natural. Most of the time, you will find the right kind of infill for landscaped areas, is a blended infill. It should not be too hard or too firm. When you walk on it, the grass should give you a natural feel.
Uncoated Sand
For a lawn that is not going to be used a lot, you should consider using uncoated sand. This is perhaps the perfect choice for homeowners that don’t spend a lot of time out in their gardens. Maybe you spend most of your time on a paved seated area and just “look out” onto your lawn. If that is the case, uncoated sand is the perfect choice of infill.
Crumb Rubber
Crumb rubber is the perfect choice for athletic grounds and sports facilities. This is a very hard wearing underlay. It can also be easily tweaked for different sports activities. As a matter of fact, it is often used as an underlay on athletic tracks. However, it is a great alternative to using other kinds of infills in grassed areas of an athletic field.
Conclusion
Choosing the right kind of infill is as important as picking the right kind of grass. Take your time, don’t rush your decision and listen to the advice from your artificial grass installer.