Caring for Your Artificial Turf Sports Field in the Winter

Fall sports are over and winter is setting in. What should you be doing to make sure that your artificial turf sports field is game-ready in the spring-time? Thankfully, winter field maintenance is a breeze with a high-quality synthetic turf system.

We hope you and your grounds team will make use of this handy guide to artificial turf sports field maintenance in the winter-time.

Clear and groom the surface of your turf field

The first thing you should do to prep for winter is to remove debris from your artificial turf field. Now is a great time to bring your turf brushes out of the maintenance shed and clear away fallen leaves, litter, etc.

Top-off your infill levels

Pay special attention to the most trafficked locations on your athletic field, such as the center circle, goal areas, and penalty areas. These locations tend to bear the brunt of impaction and migration more so than other areas. Now is the time to add turf infill to the required depth. Be sure to order turf infill as soon as possible so that you can get this first step taken care of before snow starts to accumulate. Need to top off your Envirofill or Safeshell infill? No sweat. Reach out to our sales team today and place an order!

Ice and snow removal on artificial turf sports field surface

Here at Motz, we know that snow can be unpredictable and sometimes come at the worst times. Maintenance on your field isn’t always required to remove snow if your game schedule allows for the snow to melt naturally. Fields designed with a high drainage system and a low compacting, top performance infill such as Envirofill or Safeshell will typically melt faster than systems that are more traditional.

With high-quality turf infill, winter maintenance is simple, easy, and very straightforward. However, for the cases where you can’t wait to get on the field for a game or practice, and snow removal is necessary, be sure to consult your turf provider to verify that you will not void your warranty. Warranties can be different depending on your turf provider. Potential damage may be caused by snow removal, such as torn seams. In cases of damage like this, there may be an additional charge from your turf provider to fix the issue depending upon your warranty.

Turf is durable and can withstand wear and tear that a natural field cannot, but you still need to take caution and have the proper equipment to care for your system when a winter storm strikes. Plan ahead of time with the right tools such as powered snow blowers and tractors with turf tires. When plowing your artificial turf field, make sure that you do not remove all of the snow. A small layer of snow left on the field will melt and drain quickly. If you take the blade too low, you will be removing and displacing the infill in your system along with the snow. Some infill may migrate naturally with the removal and drainage process. It is recommended that you walk the field after snow removal to level out the field and top off the areas where your infill levels have shifted.

If you have questions regarding the winter-time maintenance of your synthetic turf system, don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of the Infills team. We’re always happy to help!

Get in touch!