Buying new playground surfacing material is no small thing. At Sof’Fall we pride ourselves on the safety of our Engineered Wood Fibers which is the safest option when it comes to playground safety. We feel like when it comes to protecting our children while they are playing, our children deserve nothing but the best. 

Around 75% of playground injuries are caused by falls. If your backyard playground or swing set is over dirt, grass, dirt, concrete or asphalt, it’s time to change that. The truth is, you can get cheap playground surfacing that will do the job and protect your children.

Find Soft Playground Surfacing

Good soft surfacing under and around playground equipment doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg. However, it will safeguard against serious injuries for both your children and their friends. Even a simple backyard swing needs to have soft playground material under it to prevent injuries if there is a fall.

Whether it’s your home or a public playground, be sure to check the playground surface material first, before you let your children play. The playground surface material should either be a permanent rubber mat or a loose material such as wood chips or sand. By the way, engineered wood fibers and permanent rubber mat surfacing are the only soft playground materials that meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

You also need to check if there is enough coverage. The surface should extend at least 6 feet out from all of the playground equipment. Keep in mind, slides and swings need more coverage; this will depend on their height, so look up the requirements with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to determine exactly how much surface material your playground needs.

Condition and Lifespan of the playground surfacing material

Also, check to make sure the surface is in good condition. If the playground surfacing is made of loose materials, look around the heavily used areas, such as under the swings and at the end of the slides to make sure the material is at least 12 inches deep. Also, check permanent rubber mats for holes and worn spots. If a public playground doesn’t measure up, take your children somewhere else, and let the organization that manages the playground know that the surfacing needs attention.

If your own backyard playground fails the test, then it’s time to get some cheap playground surfacing to make it safer. Wood chips and sand are relatively inexpensive, and can potentially save you thousands of dollars in emergency room visits. You owe your children a safe environment to play, learn and grow

Safe playground surfacing such as rubber mulch is important for providing our kids a safe place to play. For this very reason the standards for playground surfacing are more important now more than ever when we are constructing new playgrounds for our kids

This standard includes the rule of a minimum and maximum critical height for the equipment. A series of tests are performed to simulate falls and the results are given Head Injury Criterion (HIC) scores. The research pertains only to impact attenuation factors that cause falls.

2) Accessibility of Surface Systems

This standard involves the accessibility of safe playground surfacing materials for children with disabilities. Minimum specifications are set to make the equipment more accessible to wheelchair users and other physically disabled individuals.

3)Engineered Wood Fiber as a Safety Surface Material

Engineered wood fiber is included in to use in buffer zones around the playground equipment. Standards are set for the manufacture of the material that include size, purity and density. Engineered wood fiber is noted as a material that is not guaranteed to prevent injury.

4) Poured-In-Place Playground Surfacing

This standard lists the rules for the manufacture and installation of poured-in-place surfacing materials for playground equipment. Soft playground surfacing is designed to reduce a child’s force of impact with the ground. This standard includes maintenance requirements for the owners of playground equipment.

5) Loose-Fill Rubber as a Surface Material

Loose-fill rubber mulch is described as a protective material to use around playground equipment. This standard is designed for use by playground equipment manufacturers and operators along with the suppliers of loose-fill rubber. The minimum design requirements include particle size and the concentration of hazardous metals.

Setting professional standards for playground surfacing is necessary to prevent serious injury and death. These rules affect the minimum and maximum heights that swing sets or climbing bars are raised from the ground. Only soft playground surfacing is used around the equipment and tested before being installed. In addition, the ASTM meets every year to review and change their standards every few years. It’s important that all play equipment owners and operators follow the rules that are recommended by the ASTM

Playground surfacing is the most important element in the overall safety of a playground.

The best way to summarize what you need to know when you are looking for safe playground surfacing is what questions you need to ask. Asking the right questions will prove extremely helpful especially when you have playground safety in mind. Here are some questions you might want to consider:

• What is the playground material made of?
• Is this playground material soft or hard?
• Does this playground surfacing come with any kind of warranty?
• What is the fall protection of this surface?
• How will this playground surface react when wet?
• What is the maintenance like with this kind of playground material?

Different Playground Surfacing Materials

An important thing to consider when buying new playground surfacing is the material that the surface will be made out of. Some surfaces like cement, asphalt, and dirt are just obvious bad choices. It might be a little cheaper but they are extremely more dangerous. Finding a good playground surface material doesn’t have to be hard. Soft playground surfacing doesn’t have to break the bank either. Safe playground materials come at a reasonable price that is definitely worth the cost.

Engineered wood fibers are the safest material for playground surfacing. They provide an excellent fall protection and they are the best at catching our kids when they fall. Not only this but they are easy to maintain. Where some playground materials crack, dry-out, or need resurfacing, the maintenance on this is a refill as often as needed. Our professionals are here to help with that so that playground surface maintenance is as easy as possible. 

Cost

We know that you are already fixating on the cost of your playground materials. The best advice we can give you is don’t just look at the upront cost. If that was the case then you would just leave the dirt or rocks you set the swing set on top of and call it good. Think about the children who will be playing on it. Think about the costs of years of maintenance and repairs. Overall, consider how much playground safety is really worth to you. We know you’ll make the right decision. 

Engineered wood-fibers (rubber bark) has the potential to be the safest option for playground surfacing ever.

Maintenance

The second benefit of the engineered wood fibers is that they are not going to require a lot of maintenance. There are three main things that you will have to do a on a regular basis to make sure that they are going to last you for a long period of time. The first thing is to sweep the area. This is the best way to make sure that no dirt and debris is going to stick to the rubber bark. Plus, the children are going to be safe from things that they might pick up. The second thing is to pressure wash it on an occasion.

This can scrub away any of the grime that can accumulate on the surface on it. This is going to be especially true when the children are going to be playing on a daily basis. The third thing is to remove any filth that you see on the playground immediately. Oil from children and gum will need to be removed as soon as possible before they stick to the surface because they are easier to remove when they are fresh.

Seasons

The third benefit of a safe playground surface is that it is going to be able to last through all of the different seasons. This means that it will withstand any element like wind, rain, hail, or snow. It is more dense in weight so it is even going to stay strong if it happens to flood. This is going to be a lot better than some of the materials that can be used in a playground. The other materials are just going to scatter when it is exposed to the elements. The rubber bark is not going to have the same effect so you are going to be able to cleanup the playground in no time.

Shock

The fourth benefit of the engineered wood fibers is that is going to be shock absorbent. This is something that you are going to want for a playground where the children are going to be jumping around from the high places all of the time. This means that the children are going to be able to receive fewer injuries if they fall. This is even better if you have a basketball goal on the playground. Children are going to be able to find an easier time dribbling ball on this type of surface.

These are the top four benefits of installing the rubber bark inside of your playground for the children.

We want to make sure that as trends emerge in playgrounds all over the country that those trends are geared toward safer playground for our children to play on.

Updated Traditional Style

Parents and kids alike tend to be drawn to the classics on the playground. They love swings and slides. At the same time, designers have been looking for ways to take that idea in new and amazing directions. For example, designers are taking the concept of a playspace and turning it into a fabulous pirate ship or making it into a whimsical firehouse. The goal is to encourage creative play and help kids see the world in a new way. The goal is also to encourage kids to use all of the senses including sight and hearing. To that end, designers are showing off elements such as embedded musical instruments that kids can press to get different types of musical tones.

Trending Towards Safety

While designers want to encourage kids to explore, they also want to make sure all kids are safe as they do so. Playground safety continues to be a priority for parents and playground designers today. Many elements can be put in place in order to accomplish this plan for all kids. The use of soft playground surfacing helps kids play with abandon while allowing parents to feel confident there’s no danger at the playground. Playground surfacing options that are safe also encourage kids to make friends and feel confident when they explore the rest of the world.

So Many Possibilities

Modern playground designers can work very closely to get them the results they want most. For example, if a condo only has a small space to devote to a playground, the designer can come up with an innovative way to use it to best advantage. It also does not have to cost a lot of money. Many playground designers can get impressive results with a relatively small budget. They can also take a larger vision and bring it to life in every respect. The Mall of America has a playground that delights children as it rises four stories from the ground. Little details like the use color. Bright colors can help show off the best details of the structures anyone has in mind. It’s all possible when you work with a skilled and company devoted to helping all children dream

We want to put soft playground material under the feet of every child to catch them when they fall down.

How to judge fall protection

The best way to judge fall protection is the simple eye test. This isn’t anyone’s favorite especially in our world of data and results but it can work in extreme circumstances. You don’t have to be a genius to see that the hard, compact dirt surface your child is playing on will not be too forgiving to anyone who falls down. Same thing goes with a nice engineered wood fiber surface. If there is a soft playground surface with absorbent and safe materials, the simple eye test makes you feel better about the latter example here than the former.

Contact The Right Person

 I’d be willing to bet that if you walked up to another mom in the park while you are watching you kids play on the playground and sit down next to her and say, “What do you think this material’s fall protection is?” you would get a weird look. We said at the very beginning of this article that there isn’t an easy formula that you can just do in your head to find out the fall protection of your playground surfacing. While this is true, someone somewhere has to know how safe these playground materials are. 

The beginning point for each person and each playground is going to be different but ask yourself, who would know the answer here. If it is your community playground, contact someone in the local government. If it is your child’s playground at school, talk to someone in the administration. People will either know the answer or be able to find someone to get you the answer. 

Do Your Own Research

Like most things in today’s world a simple Google search will prove very telling. Most dealers and playground surfacing manufacturers post information about their products. For example, Sof’Fall is proud to share the fact that our engineered wood fibers boast a 25 foot fall protection. We are also happy to answer any other questions you might have about our product. Do some research and we promise you’ll at least get a little bit better understanding about what your children are playing on.