Maintaining community outdoor play areas & equipment
04/10/2025
The weather is warming, and spring-cleaning is in full swing. As part of your routine preparations for the summer months, don’t forget to take care of play-equipment maintenance. Proper upkeep of outdoor playground equipment will improve its lifespan and save your council money in the long term. Not only that, but it will also help ensure that children using your equipment are as safe as possible.
Here are our tips for maintaining playground equipment:
Playground inspection & Maintenance Schedule
A key part of a playground equipment maintenance plan is regular inspections. The idea of frequent check-ups is to make sure your play equipment stays in a safe condition. Thorough, routine, and timely inspection and maintenance is a way of managing risks in the community’s play areas, helping to protect from costly accidents, and demonstrating the Council’s standards of care.
Creating a playground equipment maintenance schedule is important, regardless of the age of your equipment. It can be managed by you or a professional, and should be done in addition to an annual ROSPA inspection. Identifying and rectifying and defects is important to ensure the safety of the children using the equipment. Regular maintenance can also help extend the life of your playground equipment and identify any potential hazards before they become a problem.
Signs to look out for that may suggest that your Council’s play equipment needs attention:
- Discoloured or faded areas
- Dirt, mildew, or mould
- Signs of insect damage or infestation
- Loose or missing fittings (bolts, nuts)
- Rust, on metal parts
- Splinters, cracks and rotting on wooden parts
- Cracks or broken parts
- Fraying ropes, chains, and related items.
Cleaning outdoor play areas
To give your playset a deeper clean, consider using a power washer. Be cautious when selecting the water pressure to avoid gouging or damaging the wood. If you choose to use a power washer, make sure to follow up with periodic cleaning using a gentler method to keep the structure looking new.
Top play equipment cleaning tips:
- You can use commercial products designed to clean decks or playsets, but soap is often just as effective.
- Avoid wire brushes, these can damage the wood, leaving small marks and gouges.
- Work from top to bottom, so the dirty water runs away from the clean areas.
If your Council’s Play area has a fabric awning or canopy, it's worth cleaning these yearly. Begin by inspecting the canopy for any damage. Once you've decided it's safe to remove, carefully take it off and wash it thoroughly with a gentle detergent and water. Rinse it off and let it dry completely before storing it away.
Safe surfaces
Regular maintenance of play equipment should not only focus on the structures themselves, but also on the condition of the ground-surface materials. It is important to inspect these materials frequently to ensure they're still suitable for use. Keep in mind that your surface material plays an essential role and can make the difference between a scuffed knee and a broken bone. Grass or dirt is not safe under the playset. In case a child falls, you need a material that absorbs the shock to reduce the severity of injuries.
Mulch is an affordable and convenient choice for padding your playground area. Ensure that the mulch, or any loose fill material, remains un-compacted and spreads at least six feet beyond the equipment to create a safety buffer zone.
As time passes, mulch tends to settle and become compressed, leading to a decrease in the cushioning effect it provides under a playset. In addition, wood mulch breaks down over time. To maintain a high level of safety for children playing on the playset, it is critical to replenish the mulch regularly to ensure sufficient cushioning remains. Check the depth (it should be at least 30cm deep) of the mulch each year to check for settling and decomposition. Add more mulch to the area as needed.
It is recommended to replace playground ground cover every two to three years to ensure safety for children. However, checking more often is a good idea is a good idea to ensure the safety of children playing in the community.
Recycling & Waste
Providing bins for recycling, waste and dog-waste is a great way to keep on top play-area maintenance and cleaning. However, it’s not always practical, as bins require regular checks & emptying.
Another option is to educate. Instead of passing out fliers to combat littering, consider installing permanent educational signs in local areas. These signs can supply ongoing awareness and education for residents and visitors. Additionally, councils can organise litter-picking events to encourage volunteers and promote community involvement. These efforts can help reduce litter in the local area and create a cleaner, more sustainable environment.
Outdoor Play Environment
In maintaining outdoor equipment, it is important to consider the presence of flora and fauna in the area. Depending on the location of the playground equipment, you want to make sure that there are no insects or other vermin that may cause damage or pose a hazard to children. Wasps, foxes, rodents, and other pests require careful management to keep them away from the playground.
Keep an eye out for any potentially hazardous plants that might have grown near the playground. Poison Ivy & Stinging Nettles are particularly common plants that can have painful consequences for unaware children (and adults, for that matter).
Embedded Trampolines
Embedded trampolines are becoming popular in community play areas. However, most insurers do not cover them, and installing one may invalidate your insurance. If you plan to install an embedded trampoline for the summer, check with your insurer first to understand the impact on your policy. This will help avoid any unforeseen issues and liabilities.
Prepare for next winter
One way of making Spring maintenance easier, is to act to ‘winterise’ your play equipment. Though most playsets are built to withstand outdoor elements, winter can bring harsh conditions that can cause wear and breakdown of the equipment. Cold temperatures make materials brittle and susceptible to breaking. The weight of snow and ice can also cause strain on things like swings.
You can protect your playset by removing all detachable parts before the weather turns. Depending on the design of your play structure, this might include swings, rope ladders, canopies, trapeze bars and gliders. If you can easily detach an item, it’s a safe bet to remove it for the winter months.
Inspection & Maintenance of Playgrounds - RoSPA
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