Category: Football Pitch Cleaning

Hockey Pitch Cleaning

Posted on by Sweepfast

Analysis of the infill in a sand filled synthetic grass pitch

Just imagine that a few years ago you spent thousands of pounds on an all weather hockey pitch, or tennis courts, and as you look out of the window at it now and see ducks wading about on it you’re aware that all is definitely not well. Maybe closer inspection reveals sludge patches, and green ribbons of broken fiber running across the surface? If so then it is a signal that the infill is becoming contaminated with all manner of biological contamination and this has reached such a level where it won’t drain the rain water away, or at least only very slowly.

A quick panic call to a specialist installer might bring back the comment that “Oh yes it’s quite common, but the synthetic grass surface needs replacing at a cost of £ thousands”!! As you stare at the ceiling and wonder why you are lying on the floor, it all comes flooding back. Your groundsman finding you there says “Don’t worry boss we can get the surface tested by Sweepfast, and see if we really do need a new pitch” Following a brief call to Sweepfast, and a site inspection carried out, you are now in possession of a sedimentation test report with the results that show:

  1. the pitch isn’t worn out and actually has only worn a few millimeters from it original height
  2. the infill is contaminated and the levels are well over 10%
  3. the pitch can be “refurbished” for a fraction of the cost of a replacement
  4. Happy Days!!
Sand Extraction
Extracting Contaminated Sand from a Synthetic Grass Pitch @ 70% Contamination

Test results in the past have shown, particularly on RAF pitches near the sea where sea gulls spend a lot of time dumping “fuel” on the pitch, contamination levels reach over 70%, and a full refurb and sand replacement have dropped this down to less than 1%.

An indication backed up by facts that the Hydrofast  System from Sweepfast is extremely effective at extracting sand from long pile sand filled synthetic grass surfaces, cleaning the pitch to ‘as new’, and even cleaning out the drainage holes in the backing, a thorough job indeed.

For more information call Sweepfast on 0121 747 9255 or simply visit www.sweepfast.com.

Real Madrid Synthetic Grass Pitch Cleaning

Posted on by Sweepfast

Deep Cleaning Pitches for Real Madrid

 

 

A team from Sweepfast arrived at Real Madrid on Sunday 16th October 2012

 

 

 

 

 

and commenced deep cleaning the 3 full size, 2 x 7 aside, one 5 aside and a goal keeping area with 2 Hoerger SKU machines…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

……an ATC machine and dragbrushes etc etc. and completed in 6 days.

 

 

 

 

 

Before Deep Clean the surface is compacted and very dirty

 
 

 

 

 

After the pile is lifted and the infill de-compacted leaving the pitches looking and playing like new

Contact Sweepfast on 0121 747 9255

Cleaning Artificial Grass

Posted on by Sweepfast

“Why should I pay to clean our artificial grass football pitch?”

Here at Sweepfast I get asked that many times, and while I can understand the reasoning that “no money spent on maintenance and deep cleaning is money saved, and the pitch still looks ok” even after 6 or 7 years, but one look at the dust, dirt and broken fibres removed DSC_2135, then another at the now revitalised pitch swiftly changes their opinion. DSC_2137

 

A 3g pitch will still look green after many years because of the nature of them, with only a small amount of sand in the base and half filled with rubber granules the fibres are left to fold over with foot fall. However underneath this green surface compaction and contamination still go on unseen. Add to this the fact that over time the rubber infill gets moved about creating dangerous high and low spots, you can begin to understand how uneconomic and unsafe it is to leave an artificial grass football  pitch untouched for years.

I was recently with Sean Campbell Sports Ground Specialists in Northern Ireland at Mid Ulster Sports Arena, football pich cleaning where they have a variety of pitches some of which are 3G and some have been down for up to 9 years with only drag brushing as their maintenance program. And to be fair the pitches looked reasonable except for the wear especially at the seams. And Sean wants to put into place a proper maintenance plan using the SKU machines from Hoerger that we would provide. Our brief was to prove the benefits of a deep clean service to all involved in the Mid Ulster Sports Arena.

We used the Hoerger SKU 1500 mounted on a Massey Ferguson 15/47 tractor and spent the day deep cleaning the main pitch with excellent results, as always. The contamination and broken fibre removed will assist with water drainage after heavy rain, the fine dust removed is airborne contamination, moss spores, dead algae and dead skin etc etc will have the benefit of cleansing the pitch, the rubber crumb will have now been de compacted giving a much better feel to the surface under foot for the players and it will also have been leveled out creating a more even surface, finally all the fibres will have been set upright again as at the original installation, the benefits of this are that there will now have been an increase in the depth of the pitch thus extending its life span.

To sum up the pitch now has an extended life, especially if this process is set in place as a regular service, it is also clean and free of broken fibre, dust, dead skin, dead moss and algae, and has regained the original feel as it had when installed.

Horger Machinery

Posted on by Sweepfast

Quality Machines From The German Manufacturer Hoerger

Horger Machinery

Why Choose Horger?

Horger manufacture artificial turf equipment for the maintenance of synthetic sports surfaces. This synthetic turf maintenance machinery is hand built by German engineers in their factory near Hamburg, but  unlike other manufacturers they are purpose built to do a specific job and are not just modified industrial sweepers or grass mowers.

The KBR System for the deep cleaning of porous and non porous rubber  running tracks.

 
Hoerger started by manufacturing athletic track cleaning machinery (the KBR) in the 1980’s then started work on designing the SKU machines for deep cleaning artificial grass surfaces in early 2000.

 

 

The SKR System for deep cleaning water based synthetic grass surfaces

In 2001 Hoerger developed the SKR head water based hockey pitch cleaner to run in conjunction with the existing rear tank on the KBR for deep cleaning water based synthetic grass surfaces

 

 

The SKU system for deep cleaning of sand filled, sand dressed and 3G synthetic grass sports surfaces

The first Hoerger SKU machine to clean artificial turf was introduced in 2004 with sales starting in 2005. By the end of 2007 100 of these machines were working across Europe.

 

 

In 2008 the SKU Trac (pictured left) was introduced with a custom built 24hp hydrostatic tractor unit powering it.

 

 

A new SKU1200 rear mount and front mounted unit was introduced and then front mounted unit to fit Avant loaders was introduced (pictured right) .

 

 

 

 

There is now a 1500 Basic machine (left) added to this range with electric fan dust extraction to introduce an economical variant to the range.

 

 

 

Hoerger surface brushes.

 

At the end of 2010 the BS2000 range of brushes was introduced with the first one ready for the IOG Saltex show in September, and this has been augmented by the addition of de-compacting tines with depth wheels and a squeegee blade for levelling out the infill especially when re-filling a pitch with new sand and or rubber.

Extracting Sand From Astroturf

Posted on by Sweepfast

How do you extract the sand infill from an Astroturf pitch? The most successful way to extract contaminated sand and the associated contamination from a sand filled synthetic grass pitch, or tennis courts is using a high pressure injection system to displace it to the surface for collection. Sweepfast has developed the Hydrofast System which utilises high pressure water delivered at a precisely controlled height from the surface to lift out the material and also to wash the fibres of the synthetic grass clean as it goes. The system is built around an Avant telehandler which travels across the surface at around 0.5 km/hr lifting out the material as it goes and leaving it in a line to be collected by the following machinery.

The results can be very dramatic as demonstrated with the Sweepfast Infill Contamination Test Kit, with a total contamination ratio of around 70.49% on an extremely badly maintained pitch we have reduced that down to 1.38% in just 5 days, see the two images below for examples.

Before:-

DSC_0020
Pitch before refurb

And After:-

After Pitch Refurb
After Pitch Refurb

To see more of this impressive system visit www.sweepfast.com or call 0121 747 9255 for a free site visit, assessment and quote.

Cleaning Football Pitches

Posted on by Sweepfast

Cleaning 3G Football Pitches.

With most top level football clubs now feeling the need for 3G training pitch to train on when the weather’s poor, regular maintenance is essential to retain the playing characteristics it had when installed. Maintenance has never been high on the agenda for any synthetic grass facility in the sporting sector and the football clubs are no exception. But once the procedure is in place the benefits are immense, even the most inexperienced player can’t ignore the benefits from an even clean surface, more feel under foot and no smell!!! The smell from an indoor pitch can make you feel breathless and this can be remedied by treating with a santising product such as RBT247 Sanitiser, applied once then again within one week will kill off the bacteria that produces the odour and all that is needed is regular treatment to maintain this level.

RBT247
RBT247

 

The infill needs to be regularly cleaned and de compacted with an ATC2000 or ATC1400 surface cleaner, this will keep the infill free from larger debris such as studs, bottle tops, broken plastic, pens, grips cigarette ends etc etc, it also keeps the infill loose and even, avoiding the risks from torn ligaments, twisted ankles etc etc associated with uneven surfaces.

ATC 1400
ATC 1400

 

 

Once or twice yearly depending on the usage the pitch will need to be deep cleaned with a Hoerger SKU machine to lift out the infill make it free from dust introduced by the players from skin, from foot transfer and from blowing in through the open doors. It will also separate out the more coarse debris and store this safely on board. then it will re introduce this back into the pitch and work it back into the fibres. The SKU machine will also, once this has been done allow the operator to work the machine right down to the bottom of the carpet and relieve the compaction deeper down. The finished result is a pitch that looks, feels and smells clean.

Hoerger SKU1500 3G Pitch Cleaning Machine
Hoerger SKU1500 3G Pitch Cleaning Machine

For more details on this and any other service follow the link below:

Sweepfast Sports Surface Maintenance & Machinery
Sweepfast Sports Surface Maintenance & Machinery