Sand and salt on your turf after a storm: why to flush it now, not next spring

Turf fibers tolerate salt, which is why turf is common a block from the beach. The residue is the problem. Salt spray carried inland on a storm dries on the fibers as a white film that dulls the green and, if it is left to accumulate through a dry spell, bonds with the infill into a crust much like hard-water deposit. A fresh-water flush in the weeks after a storm takes it out completely.

Beach sand is finer and rounder than turf infill. Blown into the yard it sits on top at first and a blower takes it off. Once it has been rained on it works down into the fibers, where it changes the surface texture and can slow drainage by filling the spaces between infill grains. That needs a flush and then a re-leveling of the infill, which is part of the post-storm cleanup.

Standing water from surge, or from a storm drain that backed up, is the thing that turns a cleanup into a repair. Water under the turf can float the edges and open seams, and a yard that stayed flooded for a day can have infill washed to one end. Every post-storm visit includes a walk of every seam and edge, and a look at where the infill has gone.

Branches off, then blow, then a hose on a gentle, high-volume setting across the whole yard, working from the high side down. Do not pressure wash; it blows the infill out with the sand. Then look at the edges and along the seams in low light. If anything has lifted or the infill is obviously uneven, that is when to call.