SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/30215
Facility&Operations >> VACUUM BAG with surface debris. of standard of living. Most testing done on artificial surfaces for bacteria and fungus are on new surfaces. I am sure that growth on the new carpet samples is not a question, but growth on the nasty debris that accu- mulates in the surface is a different story. In the 1930’s and 1940’s salesmen went door to door selling vacuum cleaners. The sales pitch was to vacuum on half of an area and then dump the collected material, re- moved from the carpet, on the rest of the carpet. This demonstrated how much dirt was still in the carpet. I was surprised that the owners and op- erators of synthetic turf fields do not seem to worry about the buildup of dirt that is in playing surfaces. I suppose the question is what responsibility the owners or operators have or what should the customer expect. I would be taken aback if the hotel room I book does not have a clean floor, clean tow- els and sheets. Is this different? I do not think so. We are presently doing the same thing as the vacuum salesman of yesteryear and it still works. Most facilities we visit do a great job cleaning locker rooms, eating and spectator areas. Why should it stop at the playing sur- face door? You know that a dirty locker room is not a good sign of the quality of the operation, but you cannot see the dirt in the field. There are also ways to make this a positive for a business. As in the hotel busi- ness, the customers want to know you have their interest at heart. Signs for the cleaning times do work. We have owners who say that they want the customers to know that they are spending time cleaning. DISINFECTING Disinfecting is a different process and just as important. The NFL has set some parameters and some of the surface manu- facturers have as well. I do not know if there is presently a problem with bacteria or fungus growth, but in time it is possible. (Editor’s note: Dr. Andy McNitt, director of The Center for Sports Surface Research at Penn State, says outdoor synthetic fields do not need disinfectant applications but indoor syn- thetic fields should be disinfected, and that using a solution with Tide detergent is as effec- tive as commercial disinfectants.) As men- tioned before, the disease that one would worry about would more likely be a host of the accumulated dirt. Another problem is the ever-changing reaction that people have to viruses and bacteria. Disinfecting slows or stops that process and will make any sur- face safer. I have not mentioned the difference be- tween the outdoor surfaces and the indoor surfaces. It is easy to see that indoor sur- faces, with consistent heat and moisture, make a better environment for bacteria growth. Outdoor surfaces have the help of the sun, rain and freezing weather to curb bac- teria and fungus growth. For your informa- tion, the beauty of natural grass surfaces is that the soil and grass comes with its own bacteria that eliminates or competes with the unwanted strains. It is understood that the natural grass surface cannot survive around the clock activities, but they do cost less to install, last longer and if you have enough area for all the activities, will pro- vide a good surface. One other factor regarding any surface is the cushion capability. This is measured in the form of G-Max. This science is rather new, and I am not sure that the understand- ing of the data is conclusive. We do know that it will measure consistency of cushion throughout the surface. These measure- ments do change in any playing surface do to use, age and weather. The same is true for both natural grass and artificial surfaces. Softness, cushion and cleanliness change the characteristics of foot release, which can be a safety concern. The early synthetic sur- faces actually got sticky when they were dirty. The bottom line for most field improve- ment is the cost and benefits. The money spent on each facility can be affected by competition. In some situations, the com- petition between sports may take competi- tors to different venues. The Hertz rental car theory is, “The cleaner the vehicle, the better the customer takes care of it” has al- ways been of interest to me. If the entrance to a building, parking lot or associated areas are trashed, what would you think the in- side looks like? Cleaning is a part of any presentation and cost effective. ■ David Frey is a former groundskeeper for >> INDOOR SURFACES, with consistent heat and moisture, make a better environment for bacteria growth. the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns, a past president of STMA, owner of Field Spe- cialties, a sports and equestrian surface con- tractor, and a partner of Pro Turf Clean, Inc. 18 SportsTurf | May 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com