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Cleaning patio stones

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245

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  • Gingham_Ribbon
    Gingham_Ribbon Posts: 31,520 Forumite
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    I had the same problem last spring. I don't know how large an area it is or what your health is like but the way I did it was to take a hard bristled broom and some hot water with a splash of washing up liquid and just scrub it. I did it a slab at a time and did it over a few days. They came up beautifully. They are desperate need of doing again but at 7 months pregnant I'm not in a hurry.
    May all your dots fall silently to the ground.
  • Lizzieanne
    Lizzieanne Posts: 476 Forumite
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    I had a similar problem with the decking in my garden - parts of it were covered with green moss and algae. The cleaners you can buy in the DIY stores were full of chemicals and instructed you to keep animals away whilst it was wet.
    In the end, I used a bucket of hot water with ordinary soap powder in it and a hard bristled broom. The deck came up spotlessly clean (smelt nce, too!)
    We now scrub it once a year in the spring.
    Mortgage Free as of 03/07/2017 :beer:
  • gingin_2
    gingin_2 Posts: 2,992 Forumite
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    I'm exactly the same as Gingham Ribbon and Lizzieanne and just use really hot buckets of water and scrub with a good bristled old fashioned broom. It takes a lot of elbow grease but is worth it in the end.
  • Tuttifruitty_Theresa
    Tuttifruitty_Theresa Posts: 249 Forumite
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    i always use washing powder and as the others say a good strong bristle broom.


    xxx
  • hardpressed
    hardpressed Posts: 2,099 Forumite
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    Has anybody used the stuff that you can buy by mail order that you just wipe on and it's supossed to clean itself? It about £11 a bottle, not money saving I know but it says you can clean tombstones as well, it would be much cheaper than getting a stone mason to do it.
  • prophecy_grrl
    prophecy_grrl Posts: 670 Forumite
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    Hi everyone

    Thanks for all your ideas for me to clean the patio - I had been using cold water so aim for this weekend is to get the hot water and washing up liquid on the go!

    Thanks again :D
    *** PROPHECY_GRRL***
    *** DEBT FREE AS OF 17/10/11 - I DID IT!!! ***
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129 Forumite
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    Direct from the Cleaning section of the MEGA Index sticky we have:-

    Driveways and Paths:
    - Drive - Cleaning car oil
    - Drive - Paint
    - Path - stone
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
    DTFAC: Y.T.D = £5.20 Apr £0.50
  • freda
    freda Posts: 503 Forumite
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    Jeyes fluid and a stiff broom works a treat. Follow the instructions on the packet, keep cats out of the garden till its dry. Looks miles better - not straight away, the next day I found.
  • Penny_Watcher
    Penny_Watcher Posts: 3,518 Forumite
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    Can you beg/steal/borrow a pressure washer?

    We have one and it's blimmin' fantastic and uses no chemicals, but blasts all the stuff off the paths and deck.

    However don't ever let Mr prophecy_grrl play with it. See evidence below of "Man Cleaning".

    S6000072.jpgPlus many more square metres of squiggles Grrrrr!



    This is what happened when I asked Mr Watcher to clean the path. :mad: I now HAVE to clean it. If he'd just done nothing then I could have left it until the better weather. It's a bit like when you clean a stain off the carpet and then realise that you'll have to clean the rest.

    But you can see that it cleans the muck off really easily.

    Men - Pah!

    You cannot live as I have lived an not end up like me.
    Oi you lot - please :heart:GIVE BLOOD :heart: - you never know when you and yours might need it back! 67 pints so far.
  • MadCowMan
    MadCowMan Posts: 343 Forumite
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    I think you might need to adjust the spray pattern on that a touch :)

    you can get special heads for patios that automatically 'wiggle' the spray for you , but I dont knwo how good they are. I got my pressure washer cheap from B&Q a few years ago and its done me well.

    If anyone in Milton Keynes would like to give their patio the once over then let me know :)
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