artificial grass, weeing and the smell, help!

[alittlel0ve]

We're about to get fake grass put down in our small yard area so our DS can play properly out there as we've always had it covered in slate chips (previous owner had them down) and we've got a 8 month old cocker spaniel. Obviously she goes to the toilet out the back, but as we're getting the grass put down we've had to remove all the chips (about 6inch deep worth!) and get down to the landscape fabric underneath so we can level it all out. Anyway, as we've removed them the smell of wee is so so strong, that even leaving the back door open to pop the bins out brings the smell into the house! It's the first summer we've had her and with our yard being small and the warmer days I feel like the smell is concentrated to this little place which is making it worse.

I've just diluted a full bottle of lavender Zoflora and chucked the bucket of it all over the yard which has helped abit, but the sand and grass will be put down on Saturday and I don't want the smell "trapped" under it if that makes sense?!

Does anyone have any advice on how to keep the fake stuff clean and stop it from smelling so bad? I'm planning on diluting her wee by pouring water where she goes but not sure if mixing any antibac into it would affect the colour of the grass?? (always being careful to make sure it wont harm her of course)

We do have a passage way up a couple of steps that is keeping the gravel, but she likes to wee right beside the back door, especially if it's raining so the chances of getting her to goto the toilet up there and away from the house are pretty slim!

A great advert for a natural grass if ever there was one!!
To be blunt, it sounds absolutely grim OP, and I can't see it's going to be any better with your new "grass".
Fake grass / membranes etc may be compatible with little boys who want to kick a ball around all day, but they're absolutely not compatible with dog wee or the organic processes which would naturally break down the smells in a real lawn. There is no way I'd want my child to be playing on what is effectively a dog wee-soaked carpet!
Would you not consider laying real turf? Yes, the mud can be annoying in the wet weather, but that's what washing machines are for. It's nothing compared to the smell of dog piss all year round!
Your poor neighbours too - not fair they have to put up with the stench.
And by the way, you really shouldn't be tipping disinfectant into the soil - you'll kill every living thing in it. Not cool.

Honestly I'd just lay slabs and then use diluted dettol to tip on wee when dog has been .

Real grass isn't an option, the mud that was coming into the house from the slate chips alone is bringing more than enough dirt into the house already.
It's only just this week that we've noticed the smell when we've been removing all of the slate chips, the wee obviously has been getting trapped in between the layers and because the previous owner put them down so thick the chips at the bottom were damp, there had been no horrid smell until it was disturbed by us digging and bagging it up!
Also we have no living things to ruin by putting disinfectant down as there's no soil underneath, it's all solid concrete as we live in a terraced house.

We'd also thought about paving slabs, they were our first option because they'd be easier to keep clean, but we have a manhole cover in the yard and you're unable to pave over it and we're not allowed to move it.

Not sure what the answer is but to be fair to the op we have real grass but the dog always wees in the same place and it also stinks from time to time - usually after it's been raining for some reason so real grass doesn't always help either particularly if it's a small area.

Pave round the manhole cover?

No advice sorry but watching with interest as we are about to dig up the wasteland and replace with artificial grass. I was planning to jhave a watering van with Zof Lora at the ready and dilute it as and when

I agree , pave around it , even if you don't want to cut slabs you could infill any odd bits with gravel/ stones . We have a reasonable sized garden but our dog has a largish patio area for general use that is fenced off ( ornamental metal fence) so that he can't go on the grass unless he is supervised . We did it because he kept digging bulbs up and tried to kill himself eating a daffodil bulb but it does have the plus side of keeping the grass nice .

The sand and grass has been bought already!

Also the manhole cover is quite big and just way too obvious to pave around it as it'd stick out like a sore thumb (it's also in the middle so it's not like I could put a table/bench over it to hide it) also due to a time frame paving just isn't an option!

Looks like I'm just going to have to keep a bottle of diluted Zolfora by the back door and hope for the best..

I wouldn't have artificial grass and dogs either.
My friend has it and a small dog and it really really stinks. I wouldn't want my son playing on it.

We have normal grass which isn't much better but at least it sort of soaks away?

Can dogs not be trained to piss/shit out on their walks a couple of times a day?

Dogs peeing on artificial grass are a recipe for stinkiness, I speak from experience.

We've got fake grass and a dog. We got some cleaner/deodoriser from amazon and it works well. We put it on once every week to ten days. I do love Zoflora though so might switch to that!

Can you turf a small patch and train the dog to go there?

How are you dealing with the manhole cover and the fake grass?

Disinfectant won't work to get rid of dog pee smell, you need an enzyme cleaner. You can buy stuff from Pets at Home, or use biological detergent. OK for hard surfaces, not to be used on grass or soil.
We nearly got artificial grass last year, (2 large dogs so winter a mudfest) then cancelled at the last minute. I just hated the thought of no birds on the lawn digging up worms and not having that lovely green growth in the spring.

We have artificial grass and five dogs!

I disinfect the whole garden once a week with industrial strength stuff and one of those pressure hose/spray things, which is designed specifically for artificial grass. It works well, my garden doesn't stink and there's no mud.

I've got artificial grass and a dog that wees on it and I can genuinely say it never stinks. Occasionally if I'm sat on the grass out there and the wind is blowing the right way I get a faint whiff but that's it. In 5 years we've never disinfected it either. I presume it rains and the rain goes through the grass into the under layer and washes the wee away into the soil borders or drains?

Thanks guys! I've had a look at some cleaner with enzymes in from Pets at home that will hopefully help to get rid of the smell so will try that tomorrow.
After the Zoflora splash this afternoon it's smelling better, and we're putting down new landscape fabric in the morning so hoping that getting rid of the old one that's been under the slate all this time will also help.

@TheAntiBoop we're putting down a layer of sharp sand to level out the ground which will also cover over the manhole cover to make it all even, and laying the grass on top, so we'll just be able to peel the grass back like a carpet and dust the sand aside if/when we need access to it

@Wolfiefan We're keeping the top section of the yard chipped (separated by a couple of steps up) so I'm going to try my best to get her to goto the toilet up in that section away from the grass, but for the first and last wees of the day she goes right by the back door just to be quick and so she can get back in straight away, she hardly ever ventures up there!

Just been reading up on this and apparently the 2 main points are the type of backing on the grass and one type of backing soaks up the wee while the other lets it drain, and also what drainage is underneath and how deep you dig the foundations. Apparently if the grass is laid on concrete or poor drainage then it will smell strongly, whereas if it's on a layer of sand and then fine gravel and then soil etc then it will drain away and not smell.

Fab thanks master and also the pp who mentioned enzyme cleaner needed

I have to say I am really disappointed at the amount of people who place mud as a priority over environmental concerns.

Artificial grass is massively bad for the environment, in manufacture, in laying and in the prevention of growing of plants, and movements of insects and animals.

I think it's really sad that people care more about dirt in their homes, than a healthy garden.

Sorry but it really does piss me off.

Bees and other insects are dying off, and you care about a bit of mud!

And I write this with my pots of wildflowers (bee friendly) and overgrown wildlife gardn.....full of bees, butterflies and a happily playing child. (and dog)

I totally agree with LanaKanesLeftNippleTassel (not a sentence I ever thought I'd write.)

Pave round the man hole cover, put a lovely pot over it.

We didn't have a "healthy garden" anyway, like I said in a couple of posts up that underneath is concrete, there wasn't any plants growing on the floor anyway as there's no soil what so ever.

We have small but lovely flowers growing on the wall which attract plenty of bees and I'm planning on getting a window box for flowers and to save ground space as it's small enough as it is with out putting plants around too.

Also for those that came on looking for an answer too, I googled about enzyme cleaners to get rid of the smell and on a different site saw a lot of people saying they used biological washing powder because it's full of enzymes! I popped to home bargains and picked up the cheapest one, mixed it with some warm water (apparently really hot water effects the enzymes) and threw buckets full over the yard and left it for a couple of hours and it's honestly worked a treat!! I can't smell anything out there what so ever, plus it's saved me buying the nearly £20 one from pets at home!

alittlelOve glad you found something that worked .
Just wanted to say I wasn't pushing the PAH home stuff. I said in my post
You can buy stuff from Pets at Home, or use biological detergent.