Athletic facilities and synthetic turf playing surfaces can be "host environments" for microbes. Microbes are living cells so small that most can be seen only with a microscope. Good and BAD microbes including bacteria, fungi and algae are found everywhere on Earth.

They grow in synthetic turf no differently than they grow on natural surfaces like grass, sand and dirt. Growth of microbes on materials such as synthetic turf can lead to foul odors, discoloration by the formation of masses of mildew and even
decay of the material.

Protection against all microbes begins with proper hygiene and cleanliness. Cleaning and washing the synthetic turf with water
and approved detergents after each use is one of the best ways
to remove and kill attached or embedded microbes.

However, cleaning procedures for synthetic turf systems can be costly and time consuming. Also, surfaces that are disinfected using one of many commercially available products are easily contaminated or recontaminated within minutes of being disinfected.

It doesn't matter how safe your synthetic turf system may be if it is plagued with bad microbes. It's simply not safe enough to protect your athletes and players. Just because you can't see the problem doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist.