How to Restore & Clean Natural Stone Patios
Meant to last decades, a natural rock patio will add beauty to your house and require very little routine maintenance. Even though it will look good with barely any attempt, your rock patio will need an occasional cleaning. Barbecue spills, children’s craft projects and perhaps even daily dirt blown in the atmosphere can add up to a dirty, stained rock surface. Begin with the most gentle cleaning methods possible, and continue on to more elaborate approaches when the simpler ones don’t work.
Evaluate the surface of the natural stone patio to ascertain its type of stains. Any stones laid outdoors need to be swept and washed, but you could discover dripped grease or smoke stains under a fire pit or barbecue grill, or other evidence of rough use. The cleaning procedures you use will depend on the type of stains existing.
Sweep the patio’s whole surface, eliminating loose sand, leaves, gravel and other debris. Sweep the whole surface in 1 direction horizontally, and sweep vertically. This technique ensures you eliminate dirt which falls in the cracks between the rocks.
Spray the face of the rocks with clean water from a hose. The water will remove surface dirt and dust which remains after sweeping.
Remove dirt stains, including those that dripped from a barbecue grill, by massaging them with a gentle, household, liquid detergent, such as dish soap. Squirt the detergent over a blot on the rock, and wash the rock using a clean brush. The task will split up the dirt on the rock. Rinse the region with water in the hose to eliminate the grease stain and cleanser. If the detergent neglects to clean the dirt stain, then wash the surface completely with clean water and attempt removing the blot with a spray solution made with 1/2 cup of ammonia mixed with 1 gallon of water. Wear waterproof gloves and eye-wear while utilizing the ammonia and other powerful chemicals. Scrub the rock surface entirely between each cleaning attempt to prevent substances from mixing.
Clean biological stains caused by moss, mold and/or lichen by mixing 1/2 cup of household bleach with 1 gallon of water. Wear waterproof gloves and eye-wear when planning and using the dilution bleach alternative. Scrub the region with the diluted bleach solution. It will clean the stains and kill the organisms which can make them come. Mop up the surplus bleach solution with clean cloths or rags, and wash the stains using clean water.