How to prolong the life of your trampoline pads

How to care for trampoline padding

Trampoline pads are a crucial part of your trampoline, they are there to protect your child from hitting their feet, arms, and head on the springs and outer frame structure. You need to make sure that they are always in the best possible condition, otherwise, your children and their friend's safety is compromised. Here we give you some basic care tips to know how to keep your pads in the best possible condition for longer.

Basic care of trampoline padding

• The first step you can take in order to prolong the life of your trampoline pads is to ensure that the padding won't come in contact with sharp objects, be it stones stuck in grooves of shoes or your dog's teeth.

• Educate your kids about the safety rules of using the trampoline and explain to them why they are not allowed on it wearing their shoes.
• Other sharp objects that kids love include such as their colored pencils and craft scissors.

• Discourage your kids from running or standing on the padding, as this can deform the material and overextend the stitching when weight is either side of a seam.

Cover trampoline

• You can also ensure that your padding will last longer by keeping it clean and protected from the elements.
• When you are not using the trampoline, you can remove the pads and keep them indoors (this is really only an option if you don't have a safety net on your trampoline). This way you keep away debris as well as harsh sunlight that can weaken the padding material
• You can use a trampoline cover. However, keep in mind that a weather cover is only suitable for trampolines that do not have safety netting on them and they are also not overly practical!
• Personally, I think covering a trampoline would be fair and practical when you go away on a holiday and at the grandparent's home where the use is more infrequent.

Cleaning trampoline padding

• Cleaning the pads several times a year with a mop, hose and hand brush with just warm water will help to keep the abrasive dirt out of seams and give you an ideal opportunity to check on their condition and attachment to the trampoline frame
• Ensure that the outside part of the padding is pulled down around the edge of the frame tubing and the padding itself will then be sitting over the frame tube. To readjust the padding to fit properly over the frame, it is best to undo the netting and pull the outer part place in snugly. This is most important in ensuring your child will hit the padding before hitting the frame with any part of their body, should they jump in the wrong direction.

General check and repair

• While checking the pads look underneath to ensure all the bungee cords are secured to the frame and mat hooks. If not, re-secure.
• This can be difficult if there is no loop or eyelet to reattach to (our pads have eyelets to secure elastic back on should the bungee cord goes slack).
• If by chance some ties have come unsecured from the padding PVC then you are best to hand sew them back into position or if there is a loop or any way to tie elastic to it then have a go.
• If the padding material is wearing at the entrance, take the time to move the pads around a section or two so that a new area of PVC is trampled on more.
• When padding is badly UV affected, having a closer look at your trampoline padding covers can be beneficial. It might be reversible (a couple of brands are), and while others aren't designed to be reversible, they can be with a little bit of creativity on how to reattach to the frame (cable ties apparently can come in handy!).

Leaking trampoline padding

• Some trampoline padding brands are known to take in and hold water.
• The water then leaks out onto the trampoline while the kids are jumping.
• A way to prevent this is to use an office "hole punch" and pinch the PVC on the underside close to the mat side of the pads and punch holes, the water will then always seep out not just when the kids are on the trampoline.

Your trampoline padding can last for a very long time if you take good care of them, but choosing durable ones to start with is the best route you can take.
Look for pads that are water and UV resistant and have a thick foam and thick cover PVC material as well. This way, not only will they last longer, but your kids will be safer as well. 0.5mm or more is deemed a good thickness. Our PVC is 0.55mm thick. 

Please scroll down for more information on how to maintain and care for your trampoline and feel free to call us on (03) 5292 1100 or message us here. Links to our quality trampoline padding are to the left of the page or simply click here for Round trampoline padding or here for rectangle trampoline padding. 

Photo - Amy Stanley - Flickr