Rubber Mulch: For Playgrounds and Landscaping

Rubber Mulch: For Playgrounds and Landscaping

Curious about rubber mulch and playground safety? Consider this the rubber mulch review you’ve been looking for. I’ll cover all things playground mulch and shredded rubber mulch and you’ll be on your way to making your best decision.

Splinters, wood pump, scraped hands and knees, and dust.

These things sound familiar?

If you were ever kid (I mean, who knows, maybe you weren’t) you probably remember those falls from the monkeybars. They sucked.

I was a kid prone to danger. A total klutz. I remember the wood-chipped days of playgrounds well.

Now, things are fancy and rubber mulch exists. No more of those yuck words above. With rubber mulch, it’s smooth playing, all the way.

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What is Rubber Mulch?

Recycled rubber mulch is made from 100% recycled car tiles, keeping them out of the landfills. Recycled rubber can also be found in rubber mats, tiles, and rolls, so it’s a common practice.

Rubber mulch is usually used as playground flooring to keep kids safe while at play. It’s attractive, comes in many colors, and won’t absorb water or blow away like wood chips. It’s also super easy to maintain. Just blow off leaves, or spray with a water hose to clean.

Anywhere you’d want to use wood chips, you can now use rubber mulch. With rubber mulch, you’ll attract fewer bugs and animals, eliminate weeds, and keep your garden spaces looking great all year around. Best yet, since it doesn’t break down, you won’t have to keep replacing it every few months.

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Is Rubber Mulch Safe?

This is one of the most common questions we get.

The answer is yes, it’s very safe. Recycled rubber mulch is certified non-toxic. It’s also resistant to fire. Because it’s rubber mulch and not wood, animals also find it unappealing and won’t use it as a litter box, or eat attempt to eat pieces.

You wouldn’t want to put rubber mulch near fire pits, but over-all there is very little danger when it comes to rubber mulch.

Where to Use Rubber Mulch?

Rubber mulch can be used anywhere you would normally use wood chips. Red rubber mulch and black rubber mulch are popular colors for landscaping, while our blue and green colors are more popular for playground rubber mulch.

Playground rubber mulch is fall height rated and different depths offer different levels of safety for kids at play. Here’s a chart to help you out:

Thickness	Fall Height	Recommended Usage
2 Inches	–	Landscape
3 Inches	6’ Fall Height	Residential Playgrounds
6 Inches	17’ Fall Height	Commercial Playgrounds

If purchasing rubber mulch for playgrounds, we suggest you order the rubber mulch in bulk. If buying for landscaping, our bags are 39 lbs and are great for smaller areas.

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Benefits of Rubber Mulch:

This is a lot of information to absorb, so let me break down that basic of rubber playground mulch:

• Bye Bye Bugs: If you’re ready to say goodbye to creepy crawlies hanging out in your garden or playground, rubber mulch will send them an eviction notice.

• Look Fancy: Since rubber mulch doesn’t break down, your landscaping will look great all year around.
• Stay Safe:  For kids on playgrounds, rubber playground mulch keeps them safe when they’re being daredevils. Never worry about hurt kiddos with rubber mulch spotting them.

Cons of Rubber Mulch:

And, like everything, there are a few cons:

• Garden Woes: If you’re an expert gardener, you know that wood mulch breaking down adds nutrients to the soil. So if you’re planning on growing food, rubber mulch isn’t as beneficial.

• Keep it Together: Inevitably kids might play so hard that rubber mulch gets kicked out of the playground area. You’ll want to sweep these back in as that happens.
• Fire Resistant:  Fire resistance doesn’t mean completely fireproof. Keep these babies away from BBQ grills. But it’s not like wood chips don’t burn too, so this is small potatoes.

Conclusion:

Whether you’ve looked at using recycled rubber mulch for playground or landscaping, you now have all the information you need to decide if it’s right for you.

I hope I helped make this decision as easy as pie. Ready to shop playground rubber mulch? Click below!

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