Looking for the pro's and con's to using rubber mulch. Has anyone here used it? Is it cheaper than stone and can it be purchased locally in bulk? Does it smell bad when it gets hot outside? Thanks!
I have only used it on a small scale- in the tops of pots and small beds. There is an odor but I only noticed at first after awhile I don't remember it smelling even with the hot sun baking it. It does wash away easier than most mulches, so I wouldn't use it on a slope or where water flows. Hope that helps you decide. I have a question how thick a layer will you be using?
We have an above ground pool with landscape timbers and stones surrounding it. The timbers are pretty weathered and so I thought we would put landscape pavers around instead and then instead of stones use the rubber mulch. It would probably not be very deep at all. We would fill with dirt, then landscape fabric and cover with the mulch. I want to put solar lights in there as well.
Depends on where you apply it. If for around a pool like one of the other posters, then i would say go for it. If you want this for around bushes and such it will do nothing for you. It might last longer, but it will not 'sweeten' the soil and may actually pollute it over time, I suppose. It will eventually fade unless you plan on using Armor All on each individual piece
I really would advise against using it if only for health reasons. They are made mostly from recycled tires and other plastics that contain very bad chemicals that could cause cancer (I stress could, but I would rather err on the side of caution). Maybe it is a bit alarmist...but I just feel that it's important to take precautions. When the daycare used to go to the park that has the rubber mulch, I would not allow my son to go...not to mention all the kids came back stained black (skin and clothes from it).
This is an excerpt from PDN's news letter. I thought it might help you decide if it's worth the cost/risks to use rubber mulch. In another bit of very interesting scientific research, it was recently discovered that rubber mulches are not really as good as the marketers of these products would have had us believe. Duh! To help rid the world of scrap tires, ground tire rubber mulch has recently been touted for uses from playgrounds to athletic fields to putting greens. Now that rubber mulches have been used for several years, it has become clear that many of the initial claims of its superiority are being debunked. In terms of effectiveness as weed control, rubber mulch rated near the bottom of the list of mulches, but in terms of flammability, rubber mulch tops the list...not really a good thing. As for permanency, rubber mulch also fails. According to the research, rubber eating bacteria, which will actually consume rubber mulch, are initially kept at bay by toxins used in tire production (2-mercaptobenzothiazol for rubber vulcanization and polyaromatic hydrocarbons for tire softening). White and brown-rot fungus effectively neutralize the toxins, which then allows the bacteria to decompose the rubber. Ok, so this sounds good...right? Wrong! This decomposition means that all of the toxins in the tires, including very high levels of heavy metals like zinc are leached into the soil. I have warned people for years about high zinc levels which often occur when water runoff from roads drains into your landscape. Many plants, especially aquatic plants, are especially susceptible to zinc. The bottom line is simple...stick with organic, non-toxic mulches.
Thank you..this is very helpful information. We decided against using it anyways because of other poster's comments. This just makes our decision more sound.
Glad ya'll had this discussion...I was thinking of putting some in an area under my kids' swingset. Not anymore...:ack:
