Artificial turf is low maintenance, which people often hear as no maintenance. The lawns that still look excellent after a decade are the ones that got about twenty minutes of attention a month.
Here is the routine, and the two habits that do real damage.
Weekly: rinse and clear
Rinse pet areas with a hose. Blow or rake off leaves and needles before they break down into organic matter that feeds weeds and holds moisture at the surface.
That is genuinely it for most weeks.
Monthly: brush against the grain
Take a stiff push broom to your traffic lanes and brush against the blade direction. Fibers that get walked on all month lie flat and read as worn even when they are perfectly fine — brushing stands them back up.
Never use a metal-bristled rake. It shreds the fiber tips and the damage does not grow back.
Seasonally: check infill depth
Push your fingers into the turf near a walkway and near an untouched corner. If the walkway feels noticeably firmer or the blades sit lower, infill has migrated and needs to be redistributed or topped up.
Infill is not cosmetic. It holds blades upright, weights the turf down, and protects the backing from UV. Letting it run low is the fastest way to shorten a lawn's life.
The two real mistakes
First, pressure washing at close range. It blasts infill out of the turf and can separate the fibers from the backing. Use a normal hose and a gentle fan spray.
Second, ignoring pet odor until it is obvious. The smell comes from bacteria in the infill, not from the blades, so surface cleaners do nothing. An enzyme treatment applied on a schedule prevents it from ever getting established.