What You Should Know About Synthetic Grass

Without fake grass, millions of fans around the world – soccer, American style football and baseball, and of so many other spectator sports – would be forced to watch their favorite event outdoors. In the torrential rain. High winds. Extreme heat and humidity. Even blizzard-like conditions. Thanks to efforts in the early 1960s by researchers in North Carolina, in the United States, synthetic turf revolutionized viewing habits and brought major sports to the safety of indoor stadiums. What to know about artificial grass.

• Monsanto developed the first synthetic grass more than 50 years ago. It was installed at a preparatory school in Rhode Island in 1964 but gained instant popularity when it became synonymous with the Houston Astrodome, constructed in 1966 as home to Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros.
• Synthetic grass has been refined and improved over the years but is made the same as it always has been. Mostly automated systems take white and green plastic pellets, ultraviolet stabilizers, and additives and melt them all together. Other machinery mixes and stretches the goo into strands, where it is cut into something that looks like yarn. From there, strands are cut again to mimic the appearance of individual blades of grass. Mesh fabric is attached for backing, with holes punched into it for draining.
• Fake grass appears natural because it comes in some many shapes and colors. For sports, the obvious color of choice is green, but for other applications – children’s playscapes, fenced-in areas for pets, pool decks, outdoor patios – consumers can choose from slate blue, adobe, grey, black, stoplight-red, white, and many others. Manufacturers will often sell custom colors to suit a consumer’s need. The shape of individual blades of fake turf is varied, too. Why not choose from the following shapes: oval, diamond, letter-shaped patterns (V, W, C, O, and M), and still more than you can imagine.
• Artificial turf, whether in your front yard or backyard, will wear and fade over time. Depending on its usage and exposure – an outdoor putting green in the bright sun – artificial grass will last about 10 to 15 years.
• Will fake grass increase the value of your property? There is no conclusive evidence one way or the other. Keep in mind that a consumer who had synthetic grass installed for a consumer application may have a different idea of what “value” means. If you want your own putting green or are sick of cutting your lawn, then artificial is the way to go.
• Synthetic turf, when combined with a weed barrier during installation, will prevent weed growth in many cases – but is not guaranteed for the life of the product. If you do notice a weed, simply pull it out or apply a few sprays of weed killer.

The first-generation of fake grass was revolutionary, factory-made and designed to be cheaper than real grass. The 1970s brought the second generation: lifelike, with blades made to stand up. Today’s plastic grass, the third generation, is nearly indistinguishable from real grass and has extra cushioning.