Some Benefits of an Artificial Grass Lawn

Artificial grass as a way to help the environment, sure it’s a valid reason to replace the tired, high maintenance water-guzzling thatch that sits between your house and the footpath. You won’t mind being accused of being a lazy gardener if you are comfortable with the fact that by choosing to lay artificial grass you are doing your bit to fight global warming.

There are a number of factors that go into maintaining a healthy, green lawn that, quite frankly, are not particularly eco-friendly. Think of the chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers that are regularly sprayed onto lawns, the lawnmower that seems to be operating all through spring and summer. Then there is all the watering that is required to keep the grass healthy and well-grassed.

Replacing your lawn with an artificial grass equivalent will address each of the environmental issues mentioned here. And there is a further health issue that may play a big part in some people’s decision – grass allergies.

Grass allergies provide another great reason to replace your natural grass lawn with one of artificial grass. If you or one of your family suffers from severe allergies caused by grass, the option of laying down a yard of synthetic turf as a replacement has got to be on the mind.

Over the short term, it may seem as though the cost of buying and laying an artificial grass lawn is way beyond what can be considered reasonable. But when you consider the savings over the long term it becomes a much more cost effective choice. Over the life of your new artificial grass you will be saving the cost of running a lawnmower, buying fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, and watering costs. Then there’s the time cost that will no longer apply. An artificial grass lawn is very low maintenance, giving you time for other activities.

With an artificial grass lawn laid in the backyard, you will never be left living surrounded by a browning dustbowl as water restrictions continue to be applied. Your carbon footprint will be reduced over time and no matter how heavy the traffic is on your lawn, you won’t face brown patches or die-off over winter.

Artificial Grass by Royal Grass

Royal Grass is an artificial grass manufacturer catering to the landscape gardener with artificial grass systems that cater for different types of landscapes. The artificial grass is made with cutting edge technology out of environmentally friendly materials and te company boasts that their product is "the best possible identical look to real grass".

Royal Grass offers grass that always looks perfectly manicured which is ideal for owners of holiday homes who are not going to be around very often to maintain the landscape.

Royal Grass artificial grass comes in three styles: Royal Grass Park, Royal Grass Exclusive and Royal Grass Deluxe.

Royal Grass Park uses the sand-filled system and is cost-efficient for use in a wide range of circumstances. Royal Grass Exclusive is a light or medium green artificial grass and is also a sand-filled system. Royal Grass Deluxe is a non sand-fill system.

When looking for an artificial grass for landscaping your garden and creating a low maintenance, evironmentally friendly yard, consider Royal Grass' range of artificial grass.

How Is Artificial Grass Made?

Similar to the way a carpet is woven, artificial grass is made with a tufting technique to form the grass part. To start the process of making the artificial grass, the primary ingredients are blended together in a hopper into which is added dyes and chemicals that give the grass its green color. The chemicals are also designed to protect the artificial grass from the damaging ultra-violet rays from the sun.

The ingredients are mixed together in a giant mixture until they reach a taffy-like consistency. This semi-liquid form is then fed into an extruder which draws it out into a long, thin strand of material. The strands are then spun into a loose rope using a carding machine. This rope is then woven into yarn after they a pulled and straightened.

The yarn is wound onto spools and then heated to form a twisted shape. It is then taken to a tufting machine where the yarn is sewn into the backing of the turf with a tufting needle. The sewing process is capable of setting several hundreds of rows of nylon yarn a minute. The nylon yarn is soon turned into a mat of artificial grass.

A coating of latex is applied to the underside of the artificial grass carpet. A secondary backing is also coated with latex and then the two pieces are then rolled together and sealed.

A heating process is then applied to cure the latex coating and then a clipping process is carried out to ensure the surface of the artificial grass is of a uniform height.

The artificial turf carpet is then rolled into packagable lengths which is the way it is transported out to the wholesaler.

Brands of Artificial Grass

Before we take this site any further, it might be worthwhile listing the major makers of artificial grass. If for nothing else, this will give me an easy to find resource of the artificial turf makers that I may refer to from time to time.

AstroTurf
FieldTurf
Tartan Turf
Supergrasse
TigerTurf
Sportexe
Xtreme Turf
ProGreen
EZField
ForeverLawn
Grass Tex
DurraTurf
LazyLawn
Omnicourt
SmartGrass
Poligrass
Regal Grass
Royal Grass
SprinTurf
Synthetic Turf International
AstroPlay
CamTurf

This is an incomplete list of artificial grass brands. As the site expands, so too will the range of artificial grass brands that will be mentioned and examined. I expect that each new post will make mention of a different type of artificial grass which will prompt the list to be expanded further.

Safety of Artificial Grass

There are around 800 artificial grass football stadiums used by North American schools, colleges and professional teams including around half of the NFL, and the demand for new artificial grass stadiums is growing.

The artificial grass surface is preferred because it enables a uniform playing surface that is easier to care for than grass and it is more environmentally friendly because of the savings in terms of watering as well as no need for potentially hazardous chemicals.

However some health experts are concerned over the use of artificial grass due to the fact that it is made from green-colored polyethylene/nylon or polypropylene ribbons couched in a layer of cushioning rubber particles. The rubber crumbs might be more readily identified as shreaded automobile tire rubber.

The concern comes over the fact that it may be possible to ingest the small particles or inhale their fumes. The toxic chemicals can irritate the eyes and lungs and have been linked to cancer. A study has also shown that recycled tire crumbs release chemical compounds into the air under hot weather conditions.

Artificial grass also gives athletes an injury commonly referred to as turf burn more readily than would happen on natural grass which can lead to a bacterial infection that can be life threatening called MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

All of that doesn't even take into account the pending court case where it is claimed that artificial grass is responsible for exposing people to abnormally high levels of lead which is being released by the aging synthetic grass.

The popularity of artificial grass arenas is not diminishing. In fact it is increasing as players prefer playing on the true surface. The advocacy group Environment & Human Health Inc. has called for a moratorium on installing new artificial grass on fields and playgrounds until more studies have been done.

Welcome to the Artificial Grass Guide

Most websites about artificial grass area actually sites trying to sell you a specific type of artificial grass or synthetic turf surface. The focus is on why that specific type of artificial grass is the best and why you would be best to buy it.

Here at the Artificial Grass Guide, thereis no affiliation with any particular type of artificial grass. This is merely a site that wil examine any and all artificial grass surfaces, pershpas weighing up the good points with the bad points. The will be benefits highlighted as well as disadvantages to artificial grass over natural grass.

The range of artificial grass surfaces is wide and varied and it is made from a large base of companies. You will hopefully come away from reading the posts on this site with a more realistic expectation of finding the type of artificial grass that suits your needs.