Best patio cleaning chemical

Ella_fella

So have quite a large Bradstone paved patio that needs cleaning now after the winter months, I have a pressure washer but historically this has meant the pointing gets blasted out every time which I don't want to keep redoing every year - last time I tried cleaning with bleach and a yard brush without the pressure washer but had zero effect.

I've seen various brands of patio cleaner on the market, before I go wasting my money on more expensive items that also have little effect either does anyone have an recommendations for ones that actually do work without the requirement of a pressure washer as mine does not have the capability to add the solution to it anyway?

TIA

Ebe_Scrooge

I've always found good old Jeyes fluid is pretty good - assuming you're just talking about algae and the usual winter muck?

Ajmason42

I am doing similar used prokleen spray away and algae from ama....n last year and have ordered again this year as I was really impressed. Just awaiting delivery I have used my pw with patio head not Lance to remove some of the worst.  Like you our pointing is the new jointing compound stuff and although the blurb says ok with pw. I have found a little coming out. So only using the pW for the really bad bits. 

TELLIT01

I've used a Karcher pressure washer many times without blasting out the pointing.  There is an attachment called a T racer specifically for cleaning paving which has a circular head surrounded by bristles, enclosing a spinning head which doesn' apply as much force as a lance and, in my experience, does a far better job.

Carrot007

Acid. Get it before they make it harder to buy. (Often sold as brick cleaner).

fenwick458

red label hypochlorite works well, if you just want to get rid of moss and algae and green bits. I water it right down like 50ml in 2L or so and spray all the green bits using a pressure sprayer, then as if by magic they disappear, and the moss dies a few days later and I brush it off.

neilmcl

fenwick458 said:

red label hypochlorite works well, if you just want to get rid of moss and algae and green bits. I water it right down like 50ml in 2L or so and spray all the green bits using a pressure sprayer, then as if by magic they disappear, and the moss dies a few days later and I brush it off.

Which is just bleach by another name. You may as well buy the big bottles of cheap bleach from the likes of Lidl/Aldi and use it neat.

EssexExile

TELLIT01 said:

I've used a Karcher pressure washer many times without blasting out the pointing.  There is an attachment called a T racer specifically for cleaning paving which has a circular head surrounded by bristles, enclosing a spinning head which doesn' apply as much force as a lance and, in my experience, does a far better job.

Same here, T-racers are brilliant.

greyteam1959

Redo your paving pointing properly & you will not 'blast' it put every year.

Ella_fella

TELLIT01 said:

I've used a Karcher pressure washer many times without blasting out the pointing.  There is an attachment called a T racer specifically for cleaning paving which has a circular head surrounded by bristles, enclosing a spinning head which doesn' apply as much force as a lance and, in my experience, does a far better job.

I've got one of those spinning attachment heads and have tried a couple of years ago to clean my patio with it after the winter and again it doesn't touch the build up - am not sure if that's because the pressure isn't enough or I need some preparatory chemical down first to break down the build up? 
It's best described as just slime and algae.

Apjs87

Bleach and a brush or look for wet and forget. I've never power washed our patio using either of those