Cleaning off green stuff on brownstone

With the wet weather, I have gotten a lot of green algae-like stuff on my brownstone stoop. Any ideas on how to best clean this? I’ve heard of something called “Spray & Forget House & Deck Cleaner” (available on Amazon) that seems to fit the bill, but wonder if it is ok to use on a surface like brownstone? I could power wash it, but prefer not to take off layers of brownstone in the process. Maybe give it a good scrub, but with what cleaner? I’ve attached a photo. Thanks as always…. [IMG_2812](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:d0dd:img_2812.jpg.jpg)

housepoor

in Exteriors 8 years and 7 months ago

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kylecresson

in Exteriors 7 years and 7 months ago

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Great. Thank you!

housepoor | 7 years and 7 months ago

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The Spray & Forget worked as advertised – the green stuff disappeared, the white residue washed off. It comes in a stray bottle, which may make it hard to apply everywhere, but steps or a back yard are pretty simple.

kylecresson

in Exteriors 7 years and 7 months ago

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Hi. I am having the same issue with my brownstone. I’m wondering if you have any updates on how things ended up last summer. Thanks!

housepoor | 8 years and 7 months ago

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For what is is worth: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/cleaning-with-tsp-trisodium-phosphate/

NeoGrec | 8 years and 7 months ago

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mh: TSP stands for Trisodium phosphate so that’s the ticket. Light scrubbing shouldn’t damage the brownstone. If it does, the stucco must have been failing already.

housepoor | 8 years and 7 months ago

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OP here. I ended up using the Spray & Forget. It looks like it worked as advertised — spray and do nothing else. It killed the green but left a white’ish dust which I hope a quick rinse will remove (if today’s rain hasn’t done so already). Plan B is the 1:10 solution of bleach and water. I think I’ll avoid power washing given the possibility of abrasion with the soft brownstone and TSP can be difficult to handle. Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

mh | 8 years and 7 months ago

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Have you considered not cleaning it, but rather killing the moss/algae so it’s not green and doesn’t grow? I am concerned about the abrasion. You can buy a potassium solution to kill moss and algae. I used a spray on a shady brick patio, because the moss was too slippery for the client’s parents, and a year later, it’s moss-free, after just one application.

NeoGrec | 8 years and 7 months ago

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Or throw a cup of TSP into a gallon of warm water and scrub lightly, then rinse with clean water from a hose.

BobMarvin | 8 years and 7 months ago

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A 1:8 or 1:10 solution of bleach in water should do the trick.

anotherposter | 8 years and 7 months ago

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The “jet” setting on the sprayer I use for my garden hose actually takes most of that off pretty well. I’d try that first.