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Cleaning patio stones

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megasaver
megasaver Posts: 162 Forumite
in Old style MoneySaving
Have been in the house for over 4 years and am guilty of never cleaning the patio paving stones. They are grey and quite dirty. Before I go out and buy some incredibly expensive/usless/highly dangerous chemical cleaner, can anybody please recommend a good old fashioned method to get them clean?

thanks

Maria
«1345

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  • 16011996
    16011996 Posts: 8,313 Forumite
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    bleach in warm water, pour it on and brush with a stiff brush, is also great for getting rid of that slimy green stuff that appears on mine sometoimes,

    hth

    160.
  • chocomonsta
    chocomonsta Posts: 487 Forumite
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    i also use bleach to clean my patio which is all grey concrete.

    Just mix a generous squeeze or two of bleach into a watering can, fill it up with cold water and water the patio. It doesnt need to be rinsed off. The rain seems to clear it and after a day or 2 the patio comes up really bright. I used to scrub with a yard brush, but this works just as well. Hope this helps
  • elona
    elona Posts: 11,806 Forumite
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    We use neat bleach as we can get it at Netto for £1.49 for 5 litres.
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  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
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    Or borrow a pressure washer - notold fashioned but chemical free.
  • Prudent
    Prudent Posts: 11,450 Forumite
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    I used bleach on mine last year and the result was very good.
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  • student100
    student100 Posts: 1,059 Forumite
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    Pressure washer is the way to go...much less elbow grease and kinder to the garden than bleach. But not very "old style".

    My grandma used to hire my services with dad's pressure washer once a year for a while to do her patio :)
    student100 hasn't been a student since 2007...
  • Poppy9
    Poppy9 Posts: 18,833 Forumite
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    I use a pressure washer but beware it throws up muck on you if it doesn't have a shield thingy (yes that is a tech term :) ). I also find it quite a slow process. Pouring on bleach and leaving sounds good and less time consuming :)
    :) ~Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.~:)
  • megasaver
    megasaver Posts: 162 Forumite
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    A big thank you to eveyone who replied. Although I don't like using bleach, you have all convinced me that is what I should use. I am going out very soon to buy loads of it to use it on my patio. I especially love the idea of not having to work very hard to clean it :j . Just one last question is it better to spray it with thin or thick bleach?
  • student100
    student100 Posts: 1,059 Forumite
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    Thin bleach I would have thought. Thick bleach has lots of stuff (detergent, thickner, scent etc) added to make it better for cleaning toilets but there's not much point using it for the garden. Also if you use thin bleach most of the bleach will eventually evaporate whereas thick bleach could leave chemicals left on your slabs.
    student100 hasn't been a student since 2007...
  • prophecy_grrl
    prophecy_grrl Posts: 670 Forumite
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    Hi all

    Can anybody recommend a good (but cheap) way to clean patio slabs and paths please? There is green algae type stuff growing on mine (plus puppy likes to do his business out there)

    I have been using dettol mixed with water, and have also tried washing up liqiud but doesn't seem to do much good. I haven't got a tap out the garden so am relying on running back and fore with buckets :o

    Any ideas gratefully received :D
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