This is a follow up post on removing the smell of dog wee from artificial grass. I discussed last year all the products I have tested so far and the ones I feel work the best. I will now introduce you to the best way to remove odour from artificial grass in 2021.
I always want to find the answer to any problems I may encounter with artificial grass so that I can try to develop our products.
I still do not believe that the smell of dog urine in the warmer months is anything to do with the groundworks (as long as the membrane is below the aggregates the urine will naturally pass through the layers of granite dust and Type One). Hosing down the grass every now and again will help with this as will rain.
As previously mentioned I will continue to use our own Dog Wee product (a fine sand top dress) brushed in to the artificial grass, which holds on to the ammonia in the urine. This works to an extent, however I am looking to take it a step further and try and totally eliminate any odours.
Odour coming from grass not the aggregate
My dogs love to wee in the corner of my garden against a pot. I have folded the grass back in this location as you can see in the photos below and on very close inspection (not for the feint hearted) I conducted a Sniff test. It was quite clear that there was zero odour coming from the aggregate on the left, however the grass in the right hand photo quite clearly had a smell!
So to me this means the issue is 100% a grass and not a base issue.
Aggregates with no odour
Grass with an odour
New PU coated backing on artificial grass
As I believe it is a grass issue I have developed two new artificial grass products with a PU coated backing. These are the Spring 30 and the Olive 30 grasses. The PU or polyurathane backing does not absorb moisture and therefore won’t absorb the urine. This will prevent any odour build up. These products replace two previous versions that had a latex backing which absorbed moisture creating the smell. Because the grass fibres are also non-absorbent then the urine should easily be washed away.
Old latex backed grass
New non absorbent PU backed grass
Applying an absorbent mineral
In addition to the PU backing I am testing a new absorbent mineral called Zeolite. It is a crushed natural mineral which I hope will absorb any remaining odours. The idea of the top dressing is to lock onto the ammonia and absorb it, without giving off an odour until the rains come and washes it through. Zeolite is nontoxic to people and animals and is environmentally friendly which makes it an ideal substance for pet owners.
Zeolite
Zeolite brushed in to lawn
Refreshing this particular artificial grass lawn
To refresh this lawn I added a little extra granite dust and re-screeded the corner before re-fixing the grass to the timbers. I then raised the grass fibres with a power brush to get the Zeolite into the pile. See the full details of how I applied the Zeofill to the lawn.
I will keep you posted on this and if it is a success I will pursue this with all our dog installs!
Repaired corner of lawn
Refreshed lawn
It has taken me many years of hard work to be able to provide the type of artificial grass installation service we now offer. Because of the enduring attention to detail and the dedication of my team I am in the enviable position of receiving many requests from people all over the world looking for help with their artificial grass installations. Whilst this brings a huge smile to my face we are still only a relatively small family owned and run business with limited resources. We currently offer our services within Kent, South East London, Hertfordshire, Essex and parts of Surrey. Whilst I am happy to answer general questions in the comments section below from anyone it may take up to 1 week for me to get back to you. Please make sure you have read other readers questions and my answers first as your question may have already been asked.
Priority will be given to answering questions from people looking for Perfect Grass to fit and supply our own artificial grass products. Please fill out the quotation form or call us on 020 81664168
For others looking for a priority response to a specific question relating to their own installation a £50 consultation fee is charged. My goal is to respond within 48 hours in these circumstances. For this specific online assistance please email me at info@perfectgrassltd.co.uk with your questions. I often require photographs to accompany your question in order to provide the best answer.
Hi
Can you advise where to get Zeofil from please? My beagle loves to wee up my son’s goal post and as soon as the sun hits it, it wreaks!
Thanks
Hi there, this isn’t a product we sell any more, but if you google it plenty of distributors will come up. Regards
Hi Gavin, we live in Sussex (RH16) and had a high quality grass fitted in our garden approx 4 years ago by a reputable company who laid a thick sub-base of MOT, mesh weed membrane, grass underlay and then the top-grade grass on top. It looks great and is perfect for our wheelchair using son BUT we have two mini dachshunds who toilet in the garden. Despite our very best efforts of using cleaners on the grass which are sprayed on according to the instructions it stinks! do you have any advice or do you provide a consultation service?. I’m getting to the point where I’ll be ripping it up and going back to real grass. I want to smell the jasmine and the flowers not dog wee! Help!
Hi there Teresa , this topic has come up quite a few times this year and the answer is the same. The smell issue is caused by the urine being absorbed into the latex backing and every time it gets wet the smell gets worse as it is released from the latex. This years dog grasses have a PU back which stops this happening and with the use of a good infill like Zeofil which holds onto the ammonia in the urine until the rain washes it through . There isnt that much you can do now the urine has been absorbed into the backing apart from pressure washing the grass and adding a cleaner/disinfectant and then letting the backing dry (it may be worth pulling the grass back and laying this in the sun) . Once this is dry you can then brush in a pet infill (zeofil) to the grass and you can also add a product like the dog wee sand we use to also stop the absorption into the backing . regards
Hi, I have a small decking area which we have covered with artificial grass, it has good drainage, my small puppy uses it to toilet and it has a wee smell, how do I get rid of the dog urine smell. Any ideas?
Hi unfortunately , the urine has been absorbed into the latex backing as it struggles to drain through the decking which makes it twice as bad. However, I would suggest pressure washing and when it dries add a dog urine infill like zeofil. regards
I’m gonna get artificial grass but my back is slabbed so I won’t be putting agrigates or membrane down is this going to be a problem and will dog wee drain I have a dog jack Russell actually
Hi yes , this is a definite no in my experience as the urine will be trapped under the grass and will really smell. My advice would be to lift is all up , smash up the mortar base so its broken before compacting and adding a top layer and fixings , this will enable the urine to escape and reduce any issues. Always look for a PU coated grass too. regards