15 Jun Smelly Grass or Smelly Sleepers? How to Find the Real Source of Garden Odour
We get it—your garden smells, and your first instinct is to scrub the artificial grass. But what if the smell isn’t coming from the turf at all?
You wouldn’t believe how often we visit homes where customers have used our enzyme-packed Wee Free No Smell Gel or Wee Free Sub-base Soaker, only to find the odour still lingering. The grass is spotless—but the garden still stinks.
So what’s really going on?
Sometimes, the issue is all about where the wee actually lands.
Watch Where Your Dog Widdles
Dogs love to mark territory—and that can mean:
- Up against your shed base
- On timber sleepers edging the lawn
- Onto wooden decking or fence posts
These materials are absorbent. Wood acts like a sponge, sucking up not just fresh urine, but also diluted urine that’s washed off your lawn during cleaning.
The Right Enzyme Cleaner for the Job
We recommend, WEE FREE NO SMELL GEL
At Top Dog Turf, we believe your garden should be a place of joy — not a battleground of bad smells.
Sloped Lawns Make It Tricky
If your artificial grass is laid on a slope, the enzyme cleaner and the urine might both run downhill—straight into the edging materials or flower beds, where they sit and stew.
Unexpected Smell Traps
We once visited a garden in London where the smell was overwhelming, but the grass was pristine. After a bit of detective work (and some expert sniffing), we discovered the odour was trapped in a massive clump of pampas grass in the corner. Combined with high fences and low airflow, the pong just circled the garden like a bad smell… literally.
How to Find the Real Source of Garden Odour?
Use your nose—and your eyes. Watch where your dog wees. Sniff around your garden edges. And if in doubt, use a diluted solution of any Wee Free cleaner:
Dilution Guide: How to Use Wee Free Effectively
SUPER STINKY:
Deep clean — Shake well. mix 1 litre of Wee Free into a 5-litre watering can of water. This will cover 3 metres squared of lawn. Soak the grass well. Leave for 30 minutes. Rinse well to flush WEE FREE through the drainage holes into the sub base. This strongest solution is safe to use around plants, sleepers, paving, and any stubborn smelly spots. Repeat the entire deep clean in 5 to 7 days.
You cannot use too much WEE FREE. Very smelly lawns that have a build-up of dog urine will need repeated applications at maximum strength.
SLIGHTLY SMELLY:
Shake well. Add 500ml of Wee Free into a 5-litre watering can of water. This will cover 3 – 5 metres squared of lawn. Soak the grass with cleaer, wait, then rinse as above.
PONG PREVENTION:
Shake well. Add 250ml of Wee Free into a 5-litre watering can of water. This will cover 5 – 10 metres squared of lawn. Soak the grass with cleaner, wait, then rinse as above.
Need a quick walkthrough? Watch this short video where Emma explains exactly how to dilute and apply Wee Free. The method shown applies not only to our Wee Free Sub-base Soaker but also works perfectly with our Wee Free No Smell Gel.
👉🏻 Watch Emma’s dilution guide on YouTube
Explore our Wee Free Range Here
So next time your garden smells, don’t just blame the grass. Let’s sniff out the real culprit.
If you have any questions, drop us an email at in**@***********co.uk
If you want to know how to remove dog urine odour from your artificial grass, you may visit our Dog Wee University!
