Hockey Pitch Cleaning Archives - Page 2 of 2

Hockey Pitch Cleaning

Posted on 5th June 2012 by Sweepfast

Water based or water filled synthetic grass pitches are another variation on the old Astroturf idea for artificial sports surfaces that can be played on safely all year round irrespective of the weather conditions, with no detrimental effect on the surface. These water based surfaces are much used in the sport of Hockey, and the principle is that they are filled with water from overhead cannons prior to play, this acts as a wearing factor and it also affects play and it is essential that they are kept wet. However this amount of water will, if left untreated, lead to algae growth as debris and water gather in the base of the surface inhibiting free drainage and causing even further build up of contaminants and algae. All this will need treatment immediately if your valuable asset is to be kept in operation. Treatment of the water from the cannons is the front line of attack and careful choice of chemicals is essential. The surface is permanently wet so a chemical that requires high volumes of water to be effective is the main criteria here, however many of these water based pitches are near a water source, such as a river, or stream, or drains that lead to a water source and this in itself will rule out many.

So this leads to another question, how on earth do we control this ever persistent problem. The simple solution is to remove the contaminants along with the algae by employing a contractor such as Sweepfast who have years of experience in this field, and who use purpose built systems and not just converted street sweepers.

The system Sweepfast use is built by the specialist machinery constructors Hoerger in Germany and is called the SKR system. This uses the same pump and tank recovery unit as the KBR for cleaning running tracks, however the front head unit is completely different and is built just to clean water based surfaces. It utilises an extremely powerful pump which drives high volume water under high pressure into the surface displacing the algae, debris, moss and remaining water to the surface

where it is immediately picked up by the head unit, this pumps it straight into the holding tank which is emptied as soon as it’s full into a suitable drainage area.

Microscope close ups of a contaminated pitch before and after the deep clean process are below, this particular pitch was in a dreadful condition with untreated algae almost filling the pile to the top. In this instance it is always best to dry the pitch down, treat with a suitable chemical about 10 days prior to the deep clean. The results below explain why.

Water Based Hockey Pitch Pre Spray

Water Based Hockey Pitch Post Clean

Water Based Hockey Pitch Pre Spray

Water Based Hockey Pitch Post Clean

Artificial Grass Cleaning

Posted on 18th May 201227th February 2018 by Sweepfast

When William Blake penned the phrase “in England’s green and pleasant land” I don’t think he had an old Astroturf tennis court or synthetic grass hockey pitch. After, in some cases, just a few years they can turn into a nightmare for the owner, with brown sludge in patches all over and dead moss deeply rooted into the sand infill. For the owner of such a facility it must seem as if all is lost, as every effort to brush the surface clean produces no noticeable effect with the sludge appearing again at the first heavy downpour, of which there has been more than just a few this Spring. Then when they do get a break in the weather and succeed in killing off the moss and algae it all re appears with, wait for it, yes even more rain!! I can imagine the feeling of despair as the owner of a beautiful country house looks over the garden in the morning, from their kitchen window, and sees the tennis court like a blott on the landscape.

Sweepfast have had more than just a few such situations to deal with, and I’m sure more than once has a potential customer been scornful that nothing can be done and that replacement is the only way forward. This is brought on by installation companies only interested in selling a new surface and condemning the old one to the grave, or the skip!! And there’s another valid point to be made here, as we’re all doing our best to minimize landfill and re-cycle, why is it that old surfaces like these are ripped up and sent to the tip when with a bit of effort and money they can be back in service again in almost as new. The thing with many private synthetic grass tennis courts and a lot of synthetic grass hockey pitches is that as long as the seams are intact they will show very little signs of wear, and the only issue is the infill which is contaminated and refuses to allow any rain water to pass through.

Sweepfast have developed this Hydrofast System of refurbishing these surfaces using high pressure water which is fed into a machine that travels up and down the court or pitch very slowly driving out the infill, and contamination and removing it from the surface and even washing the fibres clean as it goes leaving behind an almost as new tennis court or hockey pitch. When the job is just half way through and the customer can see the comparison between the old and the new the difference is just staggering, but the best of all is the look on the owners face when their beautiful artificial grass sports facility handed back looking pristine, is extremely rewarding.

Once completed these sand filled surfaces can be easily maintained by a little effort every week or every day during Autumn and Spring, with such tools as the Cleansweep which will enable the user to clean a tennis court of litter, leaves, blossom, twigs etc etc in just 10 minutes, then use of a either a hand pulled weighted dragbrush or for the larger surfaces a towed weighted dragbrush, then regular moss and algae treatment with a suitable chemical will go a long way to keeping it free of contamination for years to come. Then once yearly it must be deep cleaned by a contractor using such machinery as the Hoerger SKU to remove deeply embedded debris and lift the fibres upright again.

Sweepfast can be contacted on 0121 747 9255 for a free site visit to discuss a rescue package to restore your facility.

See the gallery below for examples of the whole process:

Cleaning Football Pitches

Posted on 13th February 2012 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.

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.

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

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

Sweepfast Sports Surface Maintenance & Machinery

Sweepfast Blog

Category: Hockey Pitch Cleaning