Best way to remove the smell of dog urine from artificial grass
By Gavin Hall
First Published: 3rd March 2021
Updated: 10th August 2025
This is a follow up post on removing the smell of dog wee from artificial grass.
Previously I discussed all the products I have tested to try and remove the smell of dog wee from traditional latex backed artificial grass for dogs and provided information on the ones I felt worked the best. With continued research and improvements in artificial grass technology I will now introduce you to the best way to have an odour free artificial grass as of 2025.
From my research I have found that the smell of dog urine has nothing to do with the groundworks as long as the membrane is fitted below the aggregates. The urine will naturally pass through the layers of granite dust and Type One with the help of either a hosing down with water or from the rain.
Odour coming from the 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 Single Plastic Polypropylene artificial grass
As I believe it is a grass issue I have now started to use artificial grass made from single plastic Polypropylene. The sealed Polypropylene backing does not absorb moisture and therefore won’t absorb the urine. This will prevent any odour build up. These products replace previous versions that had a latex backing which absorbed moisture creating the smell. Because the grass fibres are also non-absorbent the urine will be washed away with water. In the summer months when water is scarce this could be by just pouring water over the grass with a watering can or letting the rain do its thing in wetter times. No other products are really necessary to keep the artificial grass odour free but if you did want to add a scent of real grass there are products out there for this purpose.
As long as you have decent groundworks replacing the artificial grass with one of our Polypropylene backed products will save time and money. What is also great is that these products are now 100% recyclable as the entire grass product can be sent to a recycling centre.
Give me a call on 020 81664168 for a free quote or email me at info@perfectgrassltd.co.uk
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