Does Hydro Mousse Liquid Lawn Work Or Is It Too Good To Be True?

Spring is upon us, which means your dormant lawn is likely coming out of its winter slumber and putting out new shoots. However, if your lawn was struggling to thrive prior to the cold temperatures, you may only fully notice its weakened state once the weather warms up and its performance is obviously lacking. Planting grass seed is easy enough, but a seemingly clickbaity product on the market touts an even more gratifying experience of growing a new lawn; the question stands, however, is the so-called Hydro Mousse Liquid Lawn a viable option for growing new grass or too good to be true?

Hydro Mousse Liquid Lawn ($23 on Amazon) bears the familiar "as seen on TV" badge on its bottle and makes some pretty glowing claims ("the grass grows where you spray it"). Still, many verified customers' experience with Liquid Lawn is a far cry from the product's claims: it only has a 2.9-star average out of nearly 20,000 reviews on Amazon. In fact, there are more 1-star reviews on Amazon than 5-star reviews, which may be the first clue that this product isn't all that it claims to be; customers say that the spray bottle does not stay securely closed and results in water spraying everywhere. Additionally, the "mousse" portion of the name seems to underwhelm buyers in its performance, with many reviews stating that there is no mousse at all, only a blue-green water runoff that will stain your hands.

Hydro Mousse advertises itself as ideal for high-traffic, dry, and shady portions of your lawn. It is a proprietary blend of seeds made up of Stingray Tall Fescue, Fastball RGL Perennial Ryegrass, Beacon Hard Fescue, and Merit Kentucky Bluegrass. Liquid Lawn is supposed to be an affordable alternative to hydroseeding, which can benefit your lawn and is often left up to the professionals. The involvement level of conventional hydroseeding is one reason this product could be such a game changer (if it worked as well as advertised). 

One bottle of the Liquid Lawn should cover 100 square feet of space if you are overseeding but only 50 square feet for a new lawn, making this an expensive project if you are looking to grow grass in large areas. While the product is supposed to be very easy to use, there are still preparatory steps: removing dead grass, loosening the top layer of the soil, and watering it before applying the mousse (which are many of the same steps you'd follow if using traditional grass seed). The product bottle should be attached to a hose, which will push the water through the seed blend and disperse it over your lawn. After application, water the seeds two to three times a day for three weeks, and full growth should be noticeable within 30 days. The bottle can be refilled with the brand's seed blend, so in theory, you need to purchase the whole kit only once.

While many customers claim that this product is overly hyped up, 30% of reviewers still praise its performance if (and only if) you follow the instructions perfectly. "If you shake it properly and spray from side to side as directed, it definitely sprays great. This allows it to hold properly," one 5-star reviewer writes. Customers who have had the best experience seem to have also taken some additional steps to ensure their success, such as adding more fertilizer during the process to help fortify the new seedlings.

Despite some positive reviews, however, the majority of customers are underwhelmed by the performance of Hydro Mousse Liquid Lawn (especially given its price tag and the fact that the product doesn't allow you to sidestep the soil preparation or routine irrigating following application), making it seem like a gimmicky product more than anything. As a more affordable alternative, you may be better off purchasing something like the 4.2-star reviewed Scotts Turf Builder Rapid Grass Sun & Shade Mix, which is available in a 5.6-lb bag (it will offer 839 square feet of new lawn and 2,800 square feet of overseeding) for $27 (on Amazon). Or, you can always investigate the cost of professional hydroseeding, which may be surprisingly affordable depending on your lawn's size and your needs. For the best results, remember to always employ a good guide for planting grass seed in the spring.