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Best way of cleaning and stopping a patio from greening?


Nial
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We put a new extension on a few years ago with a nice new patio round it.

There are a lot of trees about, so we have to pressure wash it twice a year to clean the 'green' off it. I hate doing this as it has dislodges a load of grount and in some places things are starting to get uneven. (The wife would have me at it every couple of months with the pressure washer).

What's the best way of non-pressure washer cleaning it?

When it's clean, what's the best way of stopping it going green again?

Thanks for any thoughts. 

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Get some wet and forget. Follow the instructions. Get it all clean and seal the patio with a good sealer that impregnates to stone. Much easier to clean and less moisture and purchase for the green to thrive on.

pouring resin into the joints should fix the grouting or jointing sand. 

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"Do you wash the soil in the garden too? "

No, but the soil in the garden won't have you on your ear because it's so slippy.

Thanks Figgy, I'll look ino wet and forget. We did seal it when it was new with Lithofin Stain Stop, everyone swore by it but it hasn't worked brilliantly well. ☹️

"pouring resin into the joints should fix the grouting or jointing sand"

What sort of resin?

Edited by Nial
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15 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

Ordinary patio sealer is basically a varnish, it looks and smells like varnish and you put it on with a roller. It does soak in to seal the surface and prevents a buildup. The down side is it can look a little shiny which some people like and other people dont. 

You can get a matt version of these products 

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When we had a patio,I found that brushing dry cement into the joints and then spraying lightly used to sort the issue out. I should add a good dose of weed killer a couple of days before hand made things last a lot longer. 

We often bad a build up of green  goo, as you know the pressure washing gets tedious. Sharp sand brushed into the  top can help. Not tried any of the chemicals so can't help there. 

 

Parents have block paving. They pressure wash and then seal with a lacquer like stuff and a large roller on a bit of broom handle. Last a couple of years of heavy use and does look "brand new" for about 18 of those months. 

Personally I haven't the patience and no longer have a patio. Just decking which is worse but swmbo likes it so its safe for now. 

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While you wait for warmer dry weather to seal the patio wash it over with a strong hot bleach solution. Leave it for an hour. Keep pets off it while it soaks. Rinse it off, giving any stubborn bits a brush. Careful it doesn't go onto plants.

The bleach will kill the algae and keep it off for quite a while.

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This stuff is great well reccomended .

You put it on and leave it for 2 hours then wash it off. ( most the green comes with it .) But the best bit is that for the next month your deck or path gets cleaner and cleaner the green totally goes by its self ..

Lasts about 3 -4 months before you just have to sprinkle  some more over and leave it  .

 

IMG_20181110_175524.jpg

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I have a large patio/paved area made of a Bradstone imitation stone.  I was warned not to use aggressive cleaning products/pressure washers which would in time spoil the surface finish.  I have found that when it is very dry and hot in the summer and the 'green' dies, a good sweep with a stiff brush does the job ('green comes off as a blackish dust).  Twice a season seems to be fine and keep it in good order.

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Have a look on YouTube there are a few videos on there where they use sodium hypochlorite it’s very strong bleach it can be bought for £15 for 20 litres @ farmers stores but be ( VERY CAREFULLY IF YOU HAVE PETS OR A GARDEN POND ) also don’t walk on it then indoors till it’s dry unless you want white foot prints on your carpet. All the block paving contractors use the stuff.

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Thanks for the suggestions guys.

It's frustrating as there's an occasional snail trail etc where the algae doesn't seem to take hold, so there's _something_ that will stop it.

There's grass up to the edge of the patio right the way round it so I need a solution that won't kill that too. I'll maybe experiment a bit.

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Just now, Nial said:

No, in some places the snail trails (or something similar) stops the algae growing.

So you have a solution, in more ways than one. Just collect a load of snails. 

You could start a local snail Olympics on your patio. 

 

Right then next problem folk. 

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  • 1 year later...

I've been meaning to reply to this with feedback.

A week or so after postign this I was dragged to a garden centre that had Algon, so I bought some, and was really impressed with it.

When that was done I got some Wet and Forget but it hasn't performed nearly as well, I've ordered more Algon before I've finished it.

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

Figgy, if you read this, what resin were you talking about in the second post?

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On 10/11/2018 at 17:57, Ultrastu said:

This stuff is great well reccomended .

You put it on and leave it for 2 hours then wash it off. ( most the green comes with it .) But the best bit is that for the next month your deck or path gets cleaner and cleaner the green totally goes by its self ..

Lasts about 3 -4 months before you just have to sprinkle  some more over and leave it  .

 

IMG_20181110_175524.jpg

We use Algon.

I wash off the patio as normal ( natural stone) while still wet I mix the Algon 3:1 with water and spray it on the slabs , leave to dry off and that's it untill the following year .

Concrete slabs will always be an issue. I wash them off and when dry brush screwfix no nonsense clear sealer all over

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