Water pooling on your turf: clogged infill, or a base that has settled?

An hour after a heavy rain, look at where the water is. Clogged infill looks like a yard that is wet everywhere, drains slowly overall, and is worst in the dirty, shaded parts; press your palm down anywhere and it squelches. A settled base looks like a distinct puddle in one place with turf around it draining fine; the puddle is in the same spot every time and the turf there is not dirtier than the rest. Also rule out the obvious: a downspout discharging onto the turf, a patio that sheds onto it, a French drain outlet that has blocked.

Years of pollen paste, leaf litter, dust and pet residue compact into the infill and coat the backing, and the drain holes clog. A Premium Restoration lifts the organic layer with a power brush and flushes it out; where the infill has bonded into a pan it is loosened or replaced. Drainage comes back. Then it stays back if the debris is kept off.

Aggregate that was not compacted, a base that was too thin, or ground that has settled under it has created a bowl, and water finds the bowl every time. Cleaning the turf over it does nothing. The fix is lifting the turf in that section, regrading and compacting the base, and re-laying, which is a job for our sister company. We will tell you on the inspection rather than sell you a clean that will not hold. Horry County soil is mostly sandy and drains through, but the water table comes up in wet months, so a base built too shallow here shows itself fast.