Turf Maintenance: How to Clean and Care for Artificial Turf
Artificial turf has become a must-have item for the elite gyms and indoor facilities. The problem many of these facilities face is cleaning the turf to ensure the health and safety of the athletes that are using it. Not many people know the right way to clean indoor turf, especially if they are new facility owners.
On Deck Sports’ facility experts have year of experience working with the turf and on the turf – giving them the knowledge on how to clean the turf for surface soil, spills or bigger issues.
Cleaning your turf is actually quite easy. If there is surface soil, simply vacuum the turf like you would any carpet. This will lift away the soil and will not harm the fibers of the turf.
Remove Stains From Your Artificial Turf
There can also be minor spills that can occur on the turf. Our turf resists staining, but any spills should be cleaned properly. These minor stains generally come from “waterborne” products which could include: Acid, Alcohol, Animal Urine, Alkali, Blood, Chocolate, Coffee, Cola, Dye, Fruit Juice, Glue, Ice Cream, Latex Paint, Milk, Mustard, Rust, Soot, Water Colors and more.
We suggest using a sponge with detergent suds and cold water within 24 hours of the spill. It can still be effective after 24 hours, but it is best to take care of the spill in a timely manner. Make sure not to use too much detergent when cleaning – use just enough to irrigate the solids out of the turf fibers. Too much can lead to a “ring” in your turf. To reduce the chance of a ring, limit detergent use and clean from the outside of the stain towards the center.
There are also more persistent stains and other problems that can affect your turf. if a more persistent stain such as crayon, lipstick, metal polish or furniture stain gets on your turf, sponge clean the area with a dry cleaning solvent. Make sure to follow the same process as detergent cleaning – making sure not to use too much and clean from the outside in. For nail polish, sponge with acetone.
A more persistent stain such as oil paint requires a little more work to clean out of your turf. immediately blot the paint to remove as much as possible, then sponge the area with turpentine or paint remover. After using the paint remover, blot with detergent and cold water. Finally, re-sponge the area with cold water to ensure all the detergent and remover is out of the area.
For an emulsified stain such as cosmetics, ink or show polish you start by sponging the area with detergent and cold water. Then apply a solvent to break up the stain before cleaning with soap and cold water, Finally, re-sponge the area with cold water to ensure all solvent and detergent have been cleared from the area.
Removing Foreign Substances From Your Artificial Turf
For foreign substances – such as chewing gum or tar – you will need to scrape the area to remove the gum or tar from the turf fibers. For chewing gum, first spray with Freon aerosol spray then scrape the gum free from the fibers. For tar removal, scrape the tar from the fibers first, then sponge with a dry cleaning solvent.
Taking these steps when cleaning your turf will ensure the best results. It cannot be guaranteed that stains will not happen after spills, but these cleaning instructions will help prevent them. We suggest cleaning all stains within 24 hours in order to get the best results.
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Any recommendations for a good vacuum to help clean up the turf?
You can really use any heavy-duty vacuum like a shop-vac or anything similar. All depends on the level of dirt. We have seen facilities use a standard vaccum to clean up at the end of the day.
I work for a cleaning company that uses a machine for carpet extractions.
Can this machine be used on a inside turf field??
THANK YOU for your help.
Hi Mark,
Spoke with one of our experts and she let me know that it would depend on the type of turf. Typically if the turf is a shorter option this will not be an issue. If its a longer turf blade, be mindful of the blades getting caught in the brush on a cleaner or the infill in a product clogging your machine. Call us (800-365-6171) or email (info@ondecksports.com) if you have more questions!
We workout on our and it just basically gets a ton a sweet dripped on it. How do I clean so there isn’t a ton of bacteria. Definitely don’t want people getting sick!!!
Hi Dani,
Speaking with our gym turf expert, he suggested that anything with a low PH level should do the trick when sanitizing. Something such as Simple Green or Lysol is what he generally suggests. Hope this helps! Let us know if you ever need any other assistance.