Homeowner met with backlash after sharing controversial landscaping choice: 'It is a royal pain ... to remove'

Unsure of whether or not to use rubber mulch as a landscaping material, one homeowner asked the r/landscaping subreddit for a second opinion. 

"Can you add rubber mulch over wood mulch?!" the OP asked.

While some commenters replied with an affirmative, others cautioned the poster to avoid the material. 

Rubber mulch is made from recycled tires that are shredded into smaller pieces. It's become a popular landscaping material because of its low upkeep requirements, compared to organic mulch, which requires frequent raking and replenishing as the mulch decomposes. Rubber mulch has also been used in playgrounds.

While rubber mulch seems like a great way to recycle rubber waste, it is not necessarily the best material for lining children's playgrounds or a garden or yard. 

Parents have complained about the melting rubber smell that rubber mulch gives off in the playground during the warmer summer months. The material gets extremely hot in direct sun, which could cause burns for children or pets that come into contact with it. 

Leachates, found in rubber tires, are known to be toxic to aquatic communities, stunting the growth of algae, snails, and fish, according to a Washington State University fact sheet on rubberized landscapes. These toxins can leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater supplies, which could affect aquatic wildlife, as well as pose long-term risks for cancer and organ damage in humans, per G3SoilWorks. 

Rubber mulch is not the kind of landscaping material you'd want to use in your garden or yard. It may seem like a great low-maintenance option to use to control weeds, but in the long run, when the weeds do pop up, it'll be much more tedious to fix, as one regretful homeowner found. 

Native plant lawns and slow-growing lawn options (buffalo grass and clover) are great alternative options for homeowners who are looking to cut back on lawn maintenance. 

Native plants, on the other hand, are already acclimated to the local climate, and they possess deep root systems that help them absorb and hold water, keeping these plants happy during dry spells. Native plants also attract local pollinators, which are crucial to our food supply. 

If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation? Making it look better 🌱 Saving money on water and maintenance 💰 Helping pollinators 🐝 No way I ever get rid of my lawn 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Instead of using rubber mulch for landscaping your lawn, try installing a lawn with native plants. It could save you time and money on lawn maintenance and water bills while creating a healthy environment for pollinators to thrive. 

"I would not use rubber mulch. Ever," one commenter said. 

"If you ever wanted to do anything different with that planting bed, it is a royal pain in the a** to remove," another commenter warned.

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