Synthetic Sports Pitch Rejuvenation Maintenance is a process carried out in the UK to artificial sport pitches, ATPs, STPs and MUGAs. Rejuvenation is normally completed on pitch surfaces which are between 6-8 years old and might be having drainage problems and leading to the organisation having to cancel games due to the existing surface being slippy and not draining properly. If this is the case then it is vital to get someone to check the surface area because it could become a health and safety risk issue for the children and players who are participating in sports on these areas whether it’s recreational football, hockey, tennis to professional soccer, FIH hockey or ITF tennis standards.
When an existing astroturf pitch isn’t maintained properly the sand filled synthetic turf becomes hard as there is a build up of algal squidge build up onto the turf that causes the all weather pitch to be poor draining and non porous. This makes the carpet become moist in damp conditions which is a perfect home for sporn, moss and algae to start to grow rapidly. When this condition isn’t tackled then the build up affects the playing performance of the pitches and a site survey will need to be carried out. This will determine whether the artificial pitch has come to an end of it’s lifespan and a full new resurfacing is required or whether there is still enough pile height / pile depth and yarn fibre in the carpet to allow a rejuvenation of the MUGA or sports field to be beneficial.
Rejuvenation is a crucial sports maintenance process that will improve the playing characteristics for the sports whether this be small sided football, hockey, rugby, tennis, netball, soccer or futsal. The main improvement to the astro turf pitch will be that the all weather surface will be once again free draining and withstand heavy downpours / rain where currently the surfacing will become flooded causing games to be suspended. It will also improve the deformity of the infill because prior to rejuvenation the sand infill will be compacted and a hard surface to play on and from personal experience myself this makes the ball court like playing onto concrete. The new surfacing area will almost be back to new with the ball roll and bounce being back to where the testing needs to be with the yarn fibres being able to stand back upright and whether the pitch has FIH, FA, RFU, IRB, FIFA or any other accreditation you want to maximise the sports pitches ability to achieve the best performances possible.
Rejuvenation over the years has had many names for renovation, restoration or simply sand removal and replacement. Many companies in the UK carry this process out by two processes:
1. Air compressed rejuvenation which in my eyes and many consultants is the best system to use because is basically carried out using an air compressor which is directed towards the carpet which then hits the sand infill and extract / lifts the contaminated moss, squidge, mud, sludge and sporn out of the turf which is then removed from site. The next process is obviously the replacement of the silica sand infill which is clean fresh sand and is installed back into the existing polyethylene astroturf or polypropylene astroturf artificial grass flooring.
2. Power wash rejuvenation is carried out by some sports maintenance contractors and companies which is basically attempting to remove / extract the contaminated sand by use of a powerful water hose however there is many reasons why this isnt as affective mainly due to the fact that because so much pressure is applied by the jet wash then the contaminated silica sand can be driven down into the bottom of the pile and unless the whole sand infill is removed theres no guarantee the moss / algae wont contaminate the bottom of the sand infill actually decreasing the serviceable life of the surfacing.
For further details on the sports maintenance options, resurfacing, rejuvenating or specification please get in touch with us or visit our website on http://sportsandsafetysurfaces.co.uk/surface-types/sand-filled/maintenance/ where it will explain all the possible options. If you contact us through our enquiry form with a site address we will be able to offer you a no obligation quote outlining all the prices, costs and product materials we would use on these projects.
Just as a reminder to how you know whether a synthetic sports pitch rejuvenation might be needed:
- Is your all weather pitch slippy and becomes slippery when wet?
- Is your astro turf pitch starting to hold puddles?
- Is there signs of slimey residue on the sport court (i.e. moss, algae, sporn, mud, algal squidge)
- Is your STP (synthetic turf pitch) prone to flooding?
- Is your ATP (artificial turf pitch) feeling hard underfoot?
The benefits of having the maintenance rejuvenation is endless but here are a few reasons:
- Extends the life expectancy of your STP, ATP or MUGA.
- Improves the playing performance to virtually ‘as new’
- Repairs any joints / seams to the line marking
- Prevents flooding and makes it back into an all weather pitch
- Surface area is non slippy and safe for the children, players and kids to play on
- Removes established moss, algae, slime which restores drainage and porosity
- Rejuvenation will maximise the serviceable lifespan of your pitch.
In a nutshell whether a synthetic sports pitch rejuvenation is needed or not then all artificial sports surfaces whether it is sand filled, sand dressed, needlepunch, water based or rubber filled should have a maintenance schedule in place. Even on multi use games areas for macadam, bitmac, asphalt and polymeric surfaces have maintenance procedures and if these are not carried out then the life expectancy will decrease massively and it could void all warranties from the suppliers and contractors.
