A patio is one of the most enjoyable spots around your house. You can do various kinds of activities with family members and friends in a very exhilarating way.
Like the other parts around the house, you have to maintain your patio so it can look and feel inviting for everyone all the time. Even more, since a patio is placed around the exterior area, you may find a lot of debris, leaves, and other unwanted matters scattered around. Moreover, the dust and stain can build up overtimes if you don’t maintain a patio regularly.
Of course, cleaning a patio is quite a simple job that you can do all by yourself, but you still have to do it right. You may damage the construction of a patio itself especially if it’s made of risky materials like pavers.
(You may also like: How to Lay Patio Pavers on Dirt | 7 Simple Steps on a Budget)
To ease you to do such job, below we share a simple tutorial about how to clean patio pavers that you can follow easily.
How to Clean Patio Pavers | Simple Tutorial
This tutorial shows you how to clean up patio pavers without damaging it. By following these steps, you will have a patio that is free from debris, dust, leaves, stains, and other unwanted matters in no time!
Empty Your Patio
Remove all pieces of furniture, potted plants, and other decor items to ease the cleaning process. You may find it hard to clean up some spots if you clean the patio with all its stuff on.
- Place the pieces of furniture and decor items in a safe area.
- Cover them with trap if necessary.
- Also, cover the vegetation around the patio so you won’t damage them.
Remove Weed and Moss
If you spot some weed and moss on your patio pavers which usually grow on the crevices, you have to remove them. You can’t have a cleaning patio with moss and weed around.
Prepare this tool:
- Weed scraper or handled brush
- Broom
Follow these steps:
- Scrap the moss and weed with the scrapper or brush.
- Gently pull the ones that the scrapper can’t handle.
- You may need to re-sand the pavers if you damage some in the this step.
Sweep the Patio
This step is to clean up the patio from dust and dirt. You may need to do this step at least once a week to keep the look and comfort of the patio. Use outdoor broom to clean the dirt and dust build-up on the pavers.
(Recommended to read: 8 Easy Steps on How to Stain a Fence | Simple Tutorial on a Budget)
Wet the Patio
This step is simply just to wet the patio before you use any cleaning solution. Save the power washer for later because you only need a hose.
Prepare this tool:
- Garden hose
Follow these steps:
- Wet the entire patio properly.
- Make sure you also remove the remaining debris, leaves, dust, and any unwanted matters.
Mix the Cleaning Solution
You can use easily-available materials to make your own cleaning solution. Do not use any harsh materials since it can damage the pavers. Be careful in using the cleaning solution since it can kill the vegetation around your patio.
Prepare these materials:
- 1-gallon warm water
- 16 oz dish detergent
Prepare these tools:
- 1-gallon bucket
Follow these steps:
- Add all the materials into the bucket, mix them well.
Cleaning the Patio
Now, let’s start cleaning the patio by using the cleaning solution that you have made.
Prepare this tool:
- Stiff bristled broom
Follow these steps:
- Slowly pour the cleaning solution on the entire surface of your patio pavers.
- Let it set for a few minutes to ease you to clean up the dirt build-up.
- Scrub the surface of the patio until there’s no dirt around.
Rinse the Patio
For this step, you can use either a garden hose or a power washer. However, the use of power washer may excavate the sand on the crevices too much so you have to use the lower power mode. Rinse off the patio with water into the drain until you don’t see any remaining solution.
Repair the Crevices
Once the patio has dried completely, you have to refill the spaces between pavers with more sand. Then, mist the sand to let it set.
Prepare this material:
- Stone dust
Prepare these tools:
- Stiff bristled broom
- Garden hose
- Mist nozzle sprinkle
- Garden sprayer (as an alternative)
Follow these steps:
- Pour the sand onto the small area of the patio.
- Sweep the sand by using the broom until all the crevices are filled.
- Mist the pavers by using the sprinkle or garden sprayer to let the sand set in the crevices.
- Do not saturate the patio, you just need to do this step to settle the sand.
Well, that is the tutorial on how to clean patio pavers that you can try right away without costing a lot. Of course, you can do all the steps all by yourself without any need to call a pro.
You may need to replace the broken pavers if you spot the ones that experience cracking or chipping. You can replace them easily especially if you have the paver supply at your home.
(Read also: Simple Tutorial On How to Install a Vinyl Fence with Only 5 Steps)
If you want to keep your patio pavers look attractive overtimes without cleaning it too often, you may consider sealing the pavers. The sealer also helps the paver to be more durable to deal with the harsh weather conditions. However, you may need to reseal your patio about every couple of years.
Keep in mind to always clean up your patio regularly so it can become an exhilarating spit that everyone can enjoy. Cleaning the patio pavers is not a tricky job at all since you can do it all by yourself with some home tools and easily-available materials. Add this tutorial on how to clean patio pavers to your DIY home project now!
