We’ve attempted to set out some suggestions for what’s the best way to clean a patio here and also maintain a clean patio based on our own experience and how to make the best use of PatioKleen eco patio cleaner.
Moss and Loose Debris
It is true what the decorators say about interior painting and wallpapering – ‘it is all in the preparation’ and we’ve found it best to scrape off as much moss as possible with say a plastic snow shovel as that won’t mark the stones or paving slabs in your driveway or patio.
Brushing with a stiff broom is well worth it to reduce the burden of debris, dead leaves and dirt that may be washed off later and is quite satisfying as well.
If possible, use a softer broom to brush along joints and pointing in between the paving to remove a winter’s worth of muck or mud from the kid’s football boots on a dry day before starting to clean.
Pressure Washer or Hose Now?
If you have a pressure washer it’s a good idea to lightly blow over the area to be cleaned and the same if you have a hose but generally you don’t use a ‘slow and close’ blasting off exercise at this stage. We’ve seen good videos of folks using a 2-stroke leaf blower to get rid of loose debris as well which seems a good method.
Applying The Patio Cleaner
A typical ready-to-use patio cleaner chemical could include PatioKleen among others and we have found that splashing it generously and methodically in an area and brushing it with a stiff brush or broom works well. It looks somewhat like a bunch of fairy liquid bubbles on the patio substrate. The agitation of the chemical is very important to achieve the best results, as is rinsing off to transport debris away.
How Much To Apply?
Being a bit stingy I worked and ‘stretched’ out the coverage a bit far and when it dried, I could see some areas or slabs that would need a quick re-dose to come up clean; we stretched 2 x 5 litres to clean 25 square metres.
The great thing about PatioKleen is that it is so easy and safe to splash out in small areas to re-clean and needs no PPE items like gloves, goggles etc. The same chemical is used in cleaning operations in enormous food factories and it is genuinely eco-friendly and food safe. In contrast, other patio cleaner chemicals are full of biocides, sodium hypochlorite and goodness knows what they are almost on the way to being chemical weapons!
If you have a pressure washer you could test out an area with a closer and slower high-pressure blast in a test area and wait a while to see what it is like when dryer to decide on whether to closely clean the whole lot. Hosing off the cleaner with a garden hose is also a good idea to transport away the loosened dirt and algae.
We suggest you wait five minutes after applying the patio cleaner chemical and brushing it in for it to take effect.
Vertical Surfaces and Steps?
With the vertical surfaces, we sprayed the PatioKleen with a low-pressure weed killer sprayer several times to saturate and brushed with a soft broom. On another site with a very engrained muck that is decades old, we used a simple rotary brush on a cordless battery drill to rub it in.
Washing Off Steps
It is very important to rinse the areas you have cleaned and scrubbed, not because the chemical is harmful at all, but because it liberates so much dirt and filth that this can dry back in if not washed away – a garden hose or pressure washer is fine for this.
OK, Did It Look Any Good?
Yes, we are pleased with our Indian sandstone patio’s look as below – to be clear, this is only 3 or 4 years old since it was laid and was pressure washed a year ago with a Stihl machine and patio cleaning hood.
What About The Run Off?
We brushed it onto the lawn and will monitor if the grass goes yellow but it did not. In contrast to many other biocide cleaners whose main role is to kill green algae and moss, you would have to be very careful spraying near grass or window boxes or waste a lot of time covering them and suiting up yourself.
Will It Re-infest With Algae?
Unless we can reduce the dampness in the British climate it probably will but based on extensive previous experience, you’ll find it comes back much slower than say where Patio Magic or similar has been used as we did in previous years.
The thing is to contact us and discuss what you want to achieve and ideally submit a basic digital photo or two so we can advise – we look forward to speaking to you soon about what’s the best way to clean my patio.
Acute Build Clean | 74 Bo’ness Road | Grangemouth | FK3 9BL
Our range of professional driveway cleaning equipment includes pressure washer flat surface cleaners.
