Here are our five top tips to maintain your garden paving and keep your patio in great condition.
If you want to keep your garden patio in excellent condition in the future, you’ll need to perform some minimal maintenance.
Most importantly, the paving should be kept clean and free of dust and damaging plants, and joints should be maintained regularly. Here are some simple tips for keeping your garden paving beautiful.
1. Regular brushing
Regular brushing clears off dirt and debris and prevents seed germination. If you haven’t cleaned your pavement in a while and small weeds are starting to grow, a good brushing will break them up and keep them from growing further or spreading.
2. Power washing
Even if you regularly brush your pavement, a more thorough cleaning will be necessary occasionally. You can use warm soapy water or floor cleaners for the task, but make sure that any floor cleaner you choose is acid free. An acid-based cleaner might damage natural stone or concrete pavement.
If you own or rent a steam or pressure washer, you can quickly give your paving stones a deep clean. Work slowly over a small area to ensure the most thorough cleaning. Also, take care around pavement joint areas, where high pressure might break off or damage the mortar.
Minster Tip: Scrubbing with a hand brush is more labour and time intensive, but may be the better option for delicate or damaged paving areas. Working on a small area, scrub carefully to loosen grime and dirt. Wash down with clean water after you’ve finished, directing the soapy water towards a nearby drain.
3. Frequent weeding
If your garden pavement has damaged mortar or wide spaces between paving stones, you’ll need to weed regularly to prevent overgrowth. Always try to remove weed at their roots to prevent them from growing back.
If pulling weeds does not seem to be controlling the problem, the next option is to use a weedkiller. Contact weedkillers are sprayed on plant leaves and tend to be an all-purpose killer. Systemic weedkillers are more thorough because they are taken in by the plant to its root system. Systemic products work a little more slowly but provide great results.
Minster Tip: Before choosing a weedkiller, identify the weeds you have to fight and then carefully read manufacturer’s labels to make sure you won’t damage your surrounding garden.
4. Fill joints
Joints play an important function by linking the concrete or stones together and providing structure. Cleaning them can be tricky, as this is the most vulnerable area of your garden pavement.
In addition to keeping joint areas weeded, you’ll need to patch and repair occasionally. When pulling weeds removes sand from joints, you’ll need to fill in gaps or you’ll just get more weeds. Using a jointing stabiliser helps bind together sand particles to slow down erosion. If mortar shows signs of cracking or flaking off, there are various formulas you can use to make repairs.
5. Seal paving stones
Finally, patio sealers prevent moisture from seeping in and damaging concrete or stone pavement. You’ll find a wide variety of products, and the wrong one can damage the surface of your pavement, so read the labels and choose carefully. You’ll still have to clean regularly, and you will need to reapply the sealing every few years, based on the manufacturer recommendations.
Patio and garden paving maintenance isn’t difficult, but it requires an ongoing commitment to keeping surfaces clean and weed free. A little regular work will keep problems from developing and will keep your garden stones looking great.
