Today’s Artificial Lawns Have Benefits Beyond Looking Good, Saving Water

After years of being credited at best with giving homeowners a green yard year-round, synthetic lawns are now proving benefits that go quite a bit further.

Schools, businesses and home owners are finding that today’s modern artificial grass provides attractive landscaping in areas that haven’t supported natural turf, reduces dirt and dust tracked into buildings and adds perceived value to a home or business.

Melissa Lidberg, an owner of Boulder Falls Pet Resort, near Phoenix, Ariz., said her staff is proud of showing off the facility to visitors and potential customers since she had synthetic grass installed in its 4,000-square-foot play area.

“People see a bright green patch of play area for their dogs, and that’s a lot more attractive than a big dirt bowl out there,” Lidberg said. “We saw the benefits of the synthetic grass immediately.”

For years, the upscale pet resort had been unable to keep grass growing in the play area. One reason was the hard soil. Another was the effect on the natural grass of up to 90 dogs romping three times a day.

Lidberg also has found that her new faux grass landscaping is keeping the floors of her buildings cleaner—no more mud and dirt tracked in from outside. That’s an unexpected benefit that one elementary school discovered after replacing a hardscrabble play area with artificial grass.

“Before, we always had dust and dirt coming in, just because the schoolyard was so bare,” said Laurie Ocampo, principal at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Because the school’s terrain has high and low elevations, the children tracked mud into the school whenever it rained or if the yard was still wet after the school had watered the bare patches of natural turf it had tried to maintain before.

“That’s just not a problem now,” Ocampo said.

Homeowners whose terrain has poor drainage or difficult elevations are also finding that synthetic lawn does more than just provide an attractive alternative to natural grass that’s been difficult to grow and maintain.

“One of our customers had a large, beautiful home and a huge lawn, nearly 5,000 square feet, but the front yard had odd elevations, and it had raised grades that retained drainage and made the front yard often unusable,” said Chris Harlien, operations manager of STC (Synthetic Turf Company) in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The synthetic lawn that STC installed (by NewGrass™) requires no watering other than to occasionally knock of accumulated dust. Its perforated backing allows for steady drainage of whatever water does fall on it.