How to Clean a Patio the Easy Peasy Way...


  1. Grow some 'sentinel conifers' in the wrong place for 12 years
  2. Eventually get around to getting a man in to remove them
  3. Ask him to leave a massive pile of branches so you can make lots and lots (and lots!) of mulch
  4. Have the wettest spring and summer on record so you can't shred the branches straight away
  5. After several months, finally get the patio cleared of all debris
  6. Et voila! 
The difference to the naked eye is even more marked than the camera picked up yesterday. I'm pondering whether it's covering up the patio, the acidity from the wet branches or both factors which have cleaned the black lichen from the slabs.

Just in case we have another 'wettest drought on record' with its accompanying hosepipe ban, it's worth remembering this approach doesn't use any tap water ;)

Comments

  1. Liz13 August 2012 at 12:06

    So that's what I'm doing wrong...I wonder if eucalypts work as well...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dobby13 August 2012 at 20:43

    Mother nature strikes again!
    Does it work on slate as well?

    ReplyDelete
  3. VP13 August 2012 at 20:44

    Hi Liz,

    I reckon they would and it'd smell very clean and fresh too ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. VP13 August 2012 at 20:46

    Dobby - indeed! I think it just might ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Janet/Plantaliscious16 August 2012 at 09:06

    Now that would use a LOT less water than the pressure washer, and I do have two rather large conifers to get rid of... Though we'd need to not use the patio for a few months, which could get tricky... Tempting, very tempting...

    ReplyDelete
  6. VP18 August 2012 at 17:28

    Janet - if it rains like it has done this year, then not using the patio for a while should be quite a simple thing to do ;)

    ReplyDelete

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