Question #3

Hi there,

I’m looking for carpet grass for my balcony. My balcony size is about 107 inches by 50 inches. What do you think would be the best option for my balcony. I don’t want water to be stagnant on the grass or cause fungus and stains underneath the grass on the balcony tiles. Could you please share how do we do this?

Thanks.

by Shaz

This is a great question because it approaches artificial grass from an incredibly common perspective that may seem a bit counterintuitive at first glance: household use. In fact, some of our products were designed to be used more for household purposes than landscaping purposes. That said, you also noted a specific size as well as a maintenance prerequisite which allows us to narrow our search a bit and quickly exclude certain contenders due to their incompatibility with a specific request.

First, it is important to point out that the specific measurements of your balcony are not inherently relevant without other limiting factors. For instance, while we would all like to get our products at the lowest price, that may not be a primary concern when compared to other considerations. The fact that you did not mention the price at all suggests that you are willing to pay a little bit more in order to ensure that all of your primary needs are met. As such, if you have to purchase an extra-large roll of artificial grass or potentially multiple smaller rolls and cut them down to size, then your question provides no reason why you would not do so.

That said, we will still make it a point to take the price into consideration as it is always important, even if you are willing to spend a little bit more. However, that will be considered a secondary consideration at best and may be tertiary by the time we are done. One thing that the size tells us is that the balcony is about 9’ x 4’ but you are still concerned with water damage. As such, while this was not provided, it is probably safe to assume that even if the balcony is covered, it is not completely protected from the elements.

This is important because it will help distinguish between the circumstances when the backing or the rug gets wet. For instance, rinsing the grass off with a hose once a week in an arid climate probably will not lead to mildew no matter what product you use. Conversely, if you live in a warm, humid climate, you are likely going to want to avoid a rubber backing as that will degrade quicker and offer better support for microbial cultures. Of course, another element of this consideration does not even have anything to do with the artificial grass in particular and that is the tile on your balcony.

To be clear, there is no artificial grass on the market that will prevent you from having to maintain tile underneath. The same cleaning regimen you use to keep your tile in shape today will be the same regimen you use when artificial grass is laid overtop it. The main difference between the two is that the artificial grass should actually help keep a lot of the dirt and debris off of the tile, but you will still have to clean the grout and other elements all the same. Thankfully, your situation does not call for the rug to be tacked or infilled, so you can literally just roll the grass up when you need to clean and unroll it once it has dried.

It is also important to consider the other kinds of stress the artificial grass will be under. For instance, if the artificial grass will be exposed to rain, then it is likely also going to be exposed to sunlight. This means that as much as the artificial grass needs to be water-safe, it also needs to have UV protection. Another factor that we here have no real way of determining is the amount of foot traffic the balcony sees. You and anyone else living the home are liable to use it at least occasionally, but the inclusion of a child or pet will stress the artificial grass significantly more than 2 or 3 adults.

Taking all of these aspects into account, we can come up with a couple of options that will fit similar but slightly different scenarios. Our first recommendation is the Lita artificial grass as it is designed for indoor use – though your setting is a bit of an indoor/outdoor hybrid by the sounds of it. Regardless, the completely synthetic construction will allow it to better resist microbial infection while also being able to stand up against mild to moderate household cleaners. Of course, you could always skip that aspect altogether and get the iCustomrug which is similarly meant more for indoor or hybrid settings. On top of that, the iCustomrug has antimicrobial treatments to prevent the development of fungus and mildew. Unfortunately, the iCustomrug has a rubber backing which means you have to be more careful if using household cleaners and will need to let the tiles dry more regularly after getting soaked.