Hot foam weed control
Weeds gone.
Risk reduced.
Hot foam machinery that clears weeds to the root without herbicide, so public spaces are safe to use again the same afternoon.
In service across municipal parks, rail, highways and professional sports venues.
Studied by universities in Italy, Greece and Austria, and in daily commercial use ever since. Not a new experiment.
No licence, no cordon, no waiting before people, pets or wildlife return.
Where the market is
Weed control has become a public conversation.
If you plan or deliver grounds maintenance, the brief has changed. More than 80 UK local authorities now restrict glyphosate on public land, herbicide-free clauses appear in more tenders every year, and residents ask what was sprayed on the verge outside their house. Meanwhile budgets are tighter and the grass still grows.
Solas builds the machinery for that reality. Superheated water and a biodegradable plant-based foam kill weeds to the root on the day of treatment, in any weather, with no licence, no PPE beyond gloves and nothing left in the soil. The same unit doubles as a hot-water cleaner for paving, play equipment and sports surfaces, so it earns its keep across the year.
The evidence behind hot foamOn the glyphosate question
You don't need to compromise on results when using herbicide alternatives.
Glyphosate is legal, effective and, for now, the default, and for some jobs nothing else matches it. We won't pretend otherwise. But legal is not the same as right for every place. Around schools, parks, playgrounds and wherever people and nature meet, spraying has no place, and we want to be your first choice for an alternative solution.
Our advantages over spraying are real, not just reassuring: any weather, no re-entry wait, safe around children, pets and water. This is no surface scorch, the heat sinks into the plant itself, and independent trials show results that match glyphosate over a season, as the seedbed empties and fewer treatments are needed.
Why Solas
Proven technology, supplied by people who know it.
A safe decision
Hot foam removes chemical exposure from your operation, which means fewer resident complaints, lower legal and insurance risk, and a decision you can publish rather than defend.
Real category experience
Our team has spent over a decade building and supporting hot foam machinery in the UK and internationally. We know how these machines are used, where they fail, and how to keep them working.
The right machine for your site
The ATW petrol skid-mount is available now, with battery units following in 2026. We match coverage, runtime and running cost to the work you actually do rather than selling one platform to everyone.
Support that stays after delivery
Parts, operator training and technical advice from people who use the equipment. In this category, service is part of the product.
How it works
Three things happen in a single pass.
- 1Heat goes in
Superheated water is applied at low pressure, breaking through the leaf's waxy surface. No blasting, no debris, no damage to paving or planting.
- 2The foam stops the heat escaping
A film of hot water on a leaf is a fraction of a millimetre thick, sitting in open air, and it loses its heat in seconds. Think of a cup of tea: poured into a mug it is lukewarm in minutes, poured into the flask in your van it is still hot mid-afternoon. Same tea, same starting temperature. Hot water on a weed is the mug, the foam is the flask. At ground level the same water stays above 60°C for 108 seconds under foam, against 12 seconds without it.
- 3The weed dies back to the root
Long enough above the lethal threshold and the heat reaches the growing point, so anything that regrows comes back slower and weaker. The foam breaks down into water within minutes: nothing to clear up, nothing to cordon off. And because treatment stops plants reaching seed, the weed population thins season on season instead of renewing itself.
Solas vs. the alternatives
How hot foam compares on the measures that matter.
| Solas hot foam | Hot water only | Glyphosate | Strimming | Hand-pulling | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed of results | Same day | Same day | Slower | Top growth only | Immediate but partial |
| Seconds above 60°C per pass | 108 | 12 | — | — | — |
| Reaches the growing point | Yes, systemic | Only if the root comes out | |||
| Water and fuel per m² treated | Baseline | 2.5× higher | — | — | — |
| Stops plants setting seed | Yes, treated in time | Yes, where kill is achieved | Partially, rootstock survives | ||
| Disturbs the soil | |||||
| Works in any weather | No, rain and wind limits | ||||
| Licence / PPE | Gloves only | Gloves only | Licence + PPE | Eyewear + gloves | Gloves only |
| Long-term weed population | Declines | Declines, more slowly | Declines | Holds or increases | Declines slowly |
| Labour intensity | Low | Low, but more passes | Low | High | Very high |
Contact time and dose figures come from the University of Pisa, 2021: both methods run on one machine, same water, with the foam supply disconnected for the hot water passes.
Where it's used
One machine, across the whole estate.
Treated surfaces are safe to use the same afternoon, with no signage or cordon.
Pavements, kerb lines, gravel and planted beds, in any weather.
Courts, pitch surrounds and hard standings kept clean without chemicals.
The same machine cleans paving, play equipment and street furniture with hot water alone.
Surfaces and settings
Any surface, any season.
Solas Clean
Swap the lance and the same unit becomes a chemical-free hot-water cleaner for playgrounds, patios, courts, benches and signage. Councils and contractors use it to sanitise play equipment and lift grime, chewing gum and algae without detergents.
About Solas CleanBook a demo
Give us ninety minutes and a patch of your worst weeds.
Founder-led demos across England & Wales. Slots available from Autumn 2026.