Patio Cleaning

It is quoted per patio, free and with no obligation, because the stone matters as much as the size. A concrete slab patio with light green algae is a quick job. The same area in Indian sandstone with heavy black spot needs a treatment and dwell time and takes considerably longer. Send photos or book a visit and you get a figure for your patio instead of an average.

Often yes, and sometimes it needs seeing. Close-up photos of the slab face and the joints usually settle whether it is sandstone, limestone, porcelain, concrete or natural stone, which decides the entire method. Where the photos are not conclusive, a test in an inconspicuous corner comes before anything goes on the main area, because getting the stone wrong is the single biggest cause of damage.

Most domestic patios are a single visit. What stretches it is treatment rather than washing: black spot lichen and heavy staining need the product left on the stone long enough to work, and rushing that is why some patios come up patchy. Steps, walls and awkward corners all add hand time, so the quote comes with a realistic estimate.

It helps a great deal if furniture, pots and anything loose are moved off beforehand, and things can be moved for you if that is difficult. Anything you would rather was not shifted or splashed is worth pointing out before the work starts. Delicate planting right against the paving is worth mentioning too, so it can be protected and watered first.

They are lichen, not dirt, which is why jet washing alone does not shift them for long. Lichen roots into the stone with fine fungal threads, so the visible black dot on the surface is only the top of something growing into the pores. A pressure wash cleans the surface for a week or two, then the spots grow back because the roots underneath are untouched.

With a biocide that kills the growth at the root, applied as a soft wash rather than blasted off with pressure. It is not instant: the treatment starts working within the hour, but the staining fades gradually as the dead lichen breaks down and weathers away, sometimes over several weeks and occasionally needing a second visit on heavily colonised stone.