How to Clean Bluestone Patio?
We have a nice bluestone patio in the back yard. It gets dirty, from leaves which fall from nearby trees and then don’t get immediately swept up, from general wear, from NY dirty rain etc…. How can I clean it? I tried a stone cleaner (three bottles of it, actually, though it’s a large patio),…
We have a nice bluestone patio in the back yard. It gets dirty, from leaves which fall from nearby trees and then don’t get immediately swept up, from general wear, from NY dirty rain etc….
How can I clean it? I tried a stone cleaner (three bottles of it, actually, though it’s a large patio), which I used less dilute than recommended, mixed with warm water, left to sit on the patio for 20-30 minutes then scrubbed hard with a brush and rinsed off with the hose, but it didn’t help all that much.
Does anyone have any cleaning substances or techniques to recommend, or a company which would do it for me?
Thanks.
have you ever tried sand? Sometimes dry sand can be abrasive and just sweeping the sand back and forth should scrub the decayed leaves away as well as moss algae. try it it could not hurt.
I agree with senatorstreet. A power washer, or pressurized sprayer, is only about the size of a canister vacuum, and usually costs under $80. It just hooks up to your garden hose and an electrical outlet. Water then comes out hard enough to blast black grime, leaf stains, moss, etc, right off the surface. Keep in mind that the water is highly pressurized, enough that you can wear a hole in a brick, so it should be used carefully and sparingly. I bring mine out once each spring to blow-off the winter grime from the bluestone, brick, concrete and limestone around my yard. Just be sure to wear goggles; the pressure could make sand, gravel and loose parts of the stone fly around pretty fast.
Then again, a few tannin stains and moss on your bluestone could be quite picturesque!
I don’t expect or want it to look new, exactly…..just not quite so grubby and stained.
This isn’t a solution but I think maybe you should just chalk it up to it’s natural patina emerging. If they’re outside and exposed to the elements their color will change over time and move away from the “newly quarried” look. It’s pretty much inevitable.
Powerwasher ??