Rubber Mulch?
 

I'm about to buy a new home playground set for the backyard for my step-daughter's 5th birthday and I'm considering different options to help increase safety if she falls. Anyone have any experience with rubber mulch for a home playground? Any negative experiences with rubber mulch? Any thoughts on other alternative solutions?

The pre-school that my daughter went to for 5 years had it in their playground. I thought it was great.

Downside that I've seen first hand is that as it degrades over time, the "dirt" residue is pretty awful, as in ruins clothes & shoes bad. It's a fine powder residue that can be considerably harder to get rid of than plain old organic dirt.

This was a number of years ago - like 10 or so - so maybe it's improved but it's at least something I thought was worth mentioning for consideration.

I wouldn't say absolutely don't do it or anything, but that was my lasting impression of dealing with it on my son's school playground. So, fwiw.

I think it's great from a safety standpoint as long as you don't mind black hands and feet

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Or, if you secretly don't want your kids to go outside, you could go this route:

Close the Loop - Garden Glass Mulch

No dirty residue, except maybe the blood.

Tankless water heaters?

Play surfacing is one of the things that my company does, I've worked in the industry over here for 17 years now in total.

If you are going to use rubber mulch, put it over a stone base: don't believe anyone who tells you it will last if laid directly onto topsoil (soil/earth moves, and the rubber mulch will move with it, so without a decent base it can become lumpy or lift causing a trip edge)

Similarly, if you can lay it to a defined edge, whether it be tannalised timber, rubber kerbs, plastic edge, etc, but not just dug into the earth. An edge will help prevent erosion at the sides exposing the edge of the mulch, which would increase the chances of it failing, lifting, etc.

It does degrade quite quickly in high wear areas, but in a garden area it's obviously better as it's usually lighter use.

Dirt, seeds, etc do get trodden into/blown onto the surface, and it can get quite mucky if left completely to it's own devices, but you can jetwash it effectively.

Getting a blended mulch usually looks pretty good, a mix of two or three colours to provide contrast. The coating of the rubber does tend to wear off pretty quickly on the surface, so if you already have a contrast via a blend, small sections of black rubber appearing within the surface will not be noticed, as opposed to having a single colour where it will stand out far more. Most companies do a 'Natural Mix' or an 'Autumn Mix' with maybe a couple of greens and a brown that usually looks good

If laid well and cleaned regularly (how often depends on use and how wet/muddy your garden gets) it's a good product. If laid badly, it doesn't last 5 minutes. So i'd recommend getting and contacting references from whoever you plan to use.

In a garden environment, IMO the only other thing worth considering is an artificial grass system: similar maintenance levels but tend to be cleaner as there is no chance of any bare rubber (as if you use the sand-dressed or even non-filled materials there is no rubber content!). But more vulnerable to mower damage, so you have to be a little more careful in that regard

Don't use grass mats: they don't really work as well as the suppliers try to have you believe. We lay them for councils here as they are definitely the lowest cost option, but the grass never establishes in the high impact points under around play units, so you just end up with the look of a grid of upturned crates filled with earth, which is not ideal in a garden! (Although certificated, I also have my doubts about the long term impact absorbency as the ground becomes more and more compacted - all the tests are carried out when they are laid over newly worked earth, which is clearly much softer than compacted earth)

Hope this gives you something to work from - happy to answer any other questions you may have if you would like!

Rubber mulch? I hardly even know her!

AlexB came up clutch.

Thank you AlexB! That is great info and very helpful. I know every situation is different, but in your mind what is the best product for a home playground in a backyard where safety is the primary concern?

Either the rubber mulch or an artificial grass surface over shockpads if aesthetics are also important. They're similar price levels, both long lasting and look good when installed professionally.

Down to personal preference between those two. Both are equal in terms of safety: as long as you get the contractor to show you a test certificate for the systems you should be fine with either of them.

Both should last the same amount of time if fitted properly and if you use a decent quality grass: it really is six of one, half a dozen of the other tbh.

Edit to add: should really have said if you get a good recommendation on a contractor, that is probably the deciding factor if you have no strong preference, rather than whether they supply mulch/grass. If they have good references and you get a good feel for them, go with what they specialise in as there really is that little to choose between the two surfaces.

Thanks again!