Clean or replace? How to tell if your turf is dirty or dead.

1. Water pools in the same place after every rain, and it is not a blocked drain or a downspout. The base has settled.
2. Seams that were repaired open again, or the surface ripples every summer. The turf was never tensioned properly or the base is moving.
3. Fibers pull out when you tug a tuft, or the backing shows cracks. The polyurethane backing has broken down, usually from age and UV.
4. Bald turf across most of a dog run or play area, not just a corner. Patching is cheaper than replacing when the bald turf is limited to part of the area; once most of the run or play area is bald, replace the section.
5. The smell is coming from the ground rather than the turf. Lift an edge: if it is stronger underneath, urine is in the base.

Dull color that brightens when wet: dirty. Flat paths: matted. White crust: hard water. Smell that fades in a dry week: residue in the infill. Green film in the shade: algae. Bumpy surface with sand piled at the low edge: infill migrated. Weeds: dirty infill. A bald corner in a dog run: a patch. All of it is a Premium Restoration, an infill top-up or a repair, and all of it is a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand.

Take a 1,000-square-foot lawn with one dog that has never been professionally cleaned. Premium Restoration: $399. Infill top-up across the pet zone, say 150 square feet of new odor-control infill at the top of the range: about $225. Total under $624, done in a day, and the turf is good for years with upkeep. Replacing the same lawn at typical installed prices on the Grand Strand is a four-figure job that takes days and involves removing and disposing of the old turf. If the base is sound, restoring it wins by an order of magnitude. If the base has failed, restoring it is money spent twice.

• Walk the yard an hour after rain and press your palm down at the low spots. Squelching is a base problem.
• Tug a tuft of fibers. Fibers that come away with backing attached mean the backing is going.
• Look along each seam in low sun. A seam that shows as a line is cosmetic; one that shows as a gap is a repair; one that gaps in several places is tension or base.
• Part the fibers in the pet zone. Loose infill is treatable; a crust is replaceable infill; smell stronger below than above is the base.
• Hand-broom a flat patch against the grain. Fibers that stand up are matted; fibers that stay short are worn.

If you are still not sure, that is what the inspection is for, and it is free with a quote.