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To complement drag brushing it is necessary to periodically remove the contaminants that build up on the pitch. Failure to do so will result in dirt simply being moved around and worked into the carpet pile by the drag brushing process. Debris can be blown onto the surface, washed down with rain or trafficked on by players’ footwear. These contaminants consist of anything from dust and carpet fibre within the infill to glass and leaves. Larger items can more easily be collected however to remove the finer debris special sweeping machines will need to be employed.

Although finer debris may not be immediately apparent, over a period of time this contamination will begin to cause porosity problems, consolidate the surface and change the playing characteristics of the pitch. Technical Surfaces use different types of power sweeping machinery designed to combat this problem. The machines clean the surface and process the infill using a series of filters and vacuums which help remove the contaminants and dust before laying the clean infill back on the surface. At the same time a drag mat on the rear redistributes and levels the infill, providing a smarter appearance.

All machines incorporate side brooms to ensure that edge to edge cleaning is achieved. This is particularly important where debris can be blown up against kickboards. The frequency of power cleaning will be dependent on each individual circumstance, taking into account the in-house equipment available, age of the pitch, its usage and so on. Normally a programme of monthly or bi monthly sweeps complementing in-house drag brushing will ensure optimum pitch condition. Where no drag brushing is carried out, a fortnightly power cleaning programme should be adopted.