Are you looking into using artificial grass or turf? It’s no question that yards and gardens add so much value to a home. Lawns add to a property’s cosmetic appeal – in real estate, this is called curb appeal, referring to how attractive a home is when seen from the street.
According to surveys, a nice lawn can improve a property’s value by up to $100k. Aside from adding to your property’s value, having a healthy lawn can have mental and physical benefits, too.
Studies have shown that being able to look at a green landscape can lessen anxiety and depression and can also lead to better stress management. However, a healthy lawn requires effort, time, and money as well.
As a property owner, there are a number of things that you need to do in order to ensure that your lawn always looks good. But what if you do not have the time nor the resources to regularly maintain your lawn? Well, artificial grass or turf might be your best option.
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Benefits of Using Artificial Grass or Turf
Artificial Grass Means Less Time on Your Yard
As what was established earlier, having a yard is one of the best ways to make a property aesthetically pleasing and a real-estate property increase its value.
However, a yard in itself will not give you those benefits. You need to also make sure that your yard is well-maintained, and that requires a lot of effort and knowledge. You need to understand the PH levels of your soil, as well as know the correct type of grass to use depending on the season.
On a more regular basis, you would need to constantly mow and water your lawn as well as remove unnecessary weeds that might easily overtake your yard if they are not removed immediately.
Using artificial turf, on the other hand, removes the majority of these tasks. Artificial turf can be used on any type of surface, so you do not have to stress over the PH levels of your yard.
You don’t have to mow and water your lawn regularly, as you only need to use water to clean your artificial turf once in a while. Installation of artificial turf is quite convenient too, since professionals often do the installation for you.
Less Water Usage for Lawn Maintenance
Water is perhaps one of the most important commodities that we have, and much of it is used at home. According to the EPA, the average American family uses around 300 gallons of water at home.
In places where there is a high need for lawn maintenance, such as California, lawns use up to about 40% to 60% of water dedicated for landscape irrigation.
With the use of artificial turf, the need to use water for lawn maintenance significantly goes down, especially since artificial turf does not require constant watering.
As mentioned earlier, you would only need to use water for your artificial turf when you need to clean it, which is also not that often, since you would only need to do a deep clean of your artificial turf at least once a month. That results in less water usage for lawn maintenance, too.
Cuts Down Yard Maintenance Cost
Aside from reducing the effort that is required from you to maintain your yard, using artificial turf also cuts down the cost necessary in yard maintenance.
According to industry experts, on average, the cost of maintaining a yard comes down to around $45 per week, though the actual cost varies from $25 to $150, depending on the size and needs of a yard.
While some yards require minimal work, others tend to need fertilizing, mulching, and clean-up. These services are on top of the regular mowing that you have to do.
When you use artificial turf, however, you significantly cut these costs because there is no need for regular maintenance. At most, what you need to do is to clean it regularly by removing debris from it using a leaf-blower or a hose.
As such, you would hardly require any products aside from detergent when you need to deeply clean the artificial turf, such as when your pets used it for their toilet needs. Thus, aside from doing less, you are spending less as well.
Artificial Grass is Good for the Environment
Conserving water aside, artificial grass is also good for the environment, given that its use produces low carbon emission compared to using regular grass.
Lawn maintenance requires the use of equipment, such as lawn mowers and strimmers; most of these use fuels such as petrol or diesel. A report released by Princeton University revealed that around 800 million gallons of gasoline is used annually to fuel lawn mowers, with 17 million gallons spilled in the process.
As well, due to how lawn mowers are designed, they also tend to release toxic gasses into the air, and the same report showed that emissions from some lawn mowers are 124 times higher when compared to a car or a truck.
Artificial turf, on the other hand, does not require mowing at all. As such, you won’t need to use petrol-fueled machinery to maintain it. Thus, the use of artificial turf does not only relieve you of lawn mowing tasks, it also cuts down your use of petrol, thus ensuring that your carbon footprint remains low.
No Problem with Limited Space
Having a lawn in a suburban area where there is ample space is ideal. However, the reality is that a lot of people today –39 million to be precise – live in apartments with limited spaces, which do not allow them the luxury of owning a yard. This is where artificial turf can be useful as well.
Since artificial turf does not require soil, you can use it to spruce up your apartment’s balcony, for example. Artificial turf does not require sunlight, soil, or constant watering, so it is perfect for indoor spaces as well.
As such, synthetic turf can help you create a lawn without necessarily requiring you to use up too much space and other resources that real grass would need.
Creative Artificial Grass Uses
Create an Indoor Playground
Now, we all know the weather is something that can’t always be guaranteed (and don’t we know it!), so when the little ones want to go outside to play and it’s raining, there isn’t a massive amount you can do to keep them entertained when all they want to do is enjoy the great outdoors.
So why not recreate the outdoors, indoors? If you are fortunate enough to have a spare room or conservatory area, lay down some synthetic grass or turf, add a slide or playhouse and voila! Children entertained for hours on end – and peace and quiet for you.
Make Balcony Space Look More Natural
If you have the luxury of owning a balcony terrace and aren’t entirely sure what to do with the space, try laying down some synthetic turf for a more natural approach. Once installed, throw in a few planters, some blooms and a bench and watch the transformation from bare to beautiful.
Artificial Grass Wall
If you are one of those people that like to be just a little bit different and unique, then how about an entire feature wall of fake grass? Not only will this be a focal point for your home, it will also provide a great backdrop for selfies too! Now that’s what we call picture perfect!
Avoiding Mud in the Car
A great way to avoid getting mud stains in your car boot is to lay it with synthetic turf. This makes a great base for laying sports gear on and is even a perfect place to leave muddy boots after sports activities until you get home.
As fake grass is so durable and easy to clean, a quick spray with some water will restore it to its original state in no time at all.
Use it for Your Pets
One well-known benefit of fake grass is how pet-friendly it is; be it outdoors or indoors. Perhaps fitting it as flooring for your dog’s kennel? Or having a separate play area for your cat to play in?
Or even utilising it for the bottom of a hamster or bird cage? There are many great ways of utilising fake grass to recreate the outdoors for your pet.
Gaming Room Floor
If you are lucky enough to have a room dedicated to entertainment; pool table, gaming, bar area – then this is the ideal place to lay down the green stuff.
As fake grass is so durable, you can rest assured any spills or accidents won’t ruin your carpet - or your fun for that matter. Not only this, it also looks pretty good too.
There are so many other uses for fake grass, such as utilising a square patch as a makeshift picnic rug or exercise mat, using it as a bath mat, surrounding a pool or pond area or even laying it in the dining room to recreate the great outdoors.
Whichever idea appeals to you, we are sure that the inside-out approach will inject some fun into your home.
Is Artificial Grass or Turf for You?
Ultimately, we all know that owning a property with a lawn has its benefits, but a lawn itself can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly to maintain.
By using synthetic turf, you can have the luxury of owning a lawn while also reducing the cost and effort that you would typically need if you are using real grass.
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