Cobblestones are often the calling card of a garden, which is why you should clean the pavementstones at least once a year. Here's how to do it.
Not only the lawn, the beds and the individual plants need a lot of care. All garden decorations, garden furniture and even garden paths must be maintained. Garden paths or the paving can get dirty very quickly and a lot of weeds also spread in the small cracks between the stones. And that looks really ugly.
The problem with the whole thing is that this is really not an easy job. After all, you have to work your way stone by stone or crack by crack and clean and remove weeds from each one. Nevertheless, this work must also be done so that the driveway or the entire garden looks well-groomed.
Our tip:
If you get down to work regularly and clean the paving stones, you will prevent heavy soiling from forming and weeds from spreading to a large extent from the outset. Moss and tufts of grass in the cracks, as well as unsightly stains on the paving stones don't stand a chance.
The following step-by-step instructions are intended to show you how best to proceed when cleaning the paving stones, regardless of whether they are made of concrete or natural stone, and how to remove weeds, such as moss and tufts of grass, from the cracks best to remove.
Cleaning paving stones - step by step instructions
Step 1 - Remove Moss and Weeds:
First you have to sweep the cobblestones thoroughly and remove the moss and weeds from the cracks. To remove moss and weeds from the cracks in the paving stones, you can use a special tool, a so-called moss scraper or joint scraper (available from Amazon). Alternatively, you can also use a high-pressure cleaner to clean the stone cracks if there is a light moss growth. However, chemical weed killers such as moss removers should only be used in exceptional cases.
Step 2 - Surface cleaning:
NumerousWeather conditions and dirt leave unsightly marks on paving stones over time. Therefore, you must of course also clean the surface of the paving stones at longer intervals.
» Clean concrete stone:
It is best to use soda water with concrete blocks (soda is available in drugstores). You must spread this evenly over the top of the stone with a broom or a rubber squeegee. If possible, you should clean the surface in good weather so that the soda-water mixture can act for at least 5 hours and the stones can dry off optimally. This is the only way that effective cleaning can be seen afterwards.
Warning:
The soda-water mixture must not get into your eyes (danger of splashing), as this can cause injuries.
» Clean natural stone:
If the paving stone is not a conventional concrete block but natural stone (e.g. granite, marble, limestone, etc.), you should of course use a special natural stone cleaner (e.g. available from Amazon) to clean the surfaces . When cleaning natural stones, however, water residues must never remain on the surface and you should always seal the surface after cleaning.
By the way, specialized companies also offer a treatment of natural stone paving that has become unsightly over time. As a rule, the areas processed in this way often look like they have been newly laid.
Step 3 - Special Stain Removal:
Sometimes special stains form on the cobblestones, which then have to be removed explicitly. This includes bird droppings, which can usually be easily removed with hot water and a brush.
However, removing oil stains is a little more complicated. If these are still fresh, you can bind them with sand ( alternatively, you can also use cat litter) and then remove them again with a grease solvent. Older oil stains, on the other hand, must first be liquefied again (e.g. with turpentine) before you can bind and remove the stains.
Hint:
Alternatively, you can also dissolve a dishwasher tab in a little water instead of a fat solvent. This also removes the oil stains well.