Black spots on my patio

Gorgeous weather is just around the corner, and you are thinking of hosting a BBQ in the Garden, just one problem the patio is covered with Black unsightly spots that you just cannot remove!! ‘I cannot possibly let my friends and family see this’ I hear you cry. You want to feel proud and show off your home and garden.

What are these black spots on my patio?

These black spots are a fungus that grows on the stone, most of the time these black marks are caused by trees and if left on the stone can get harder to clean and worse.

You might find hard cleaning will not remove these marks; this is something called lichen which is a fungus that normally grows on trees. It grows in the stone and almost impossible to remove just by cleaning with a pressure washer.

What can I do?

There are a few products available:

• The Tile Master – Algo
• Patio Black Spot Remover
• Smart Seal – Xtreme Patio Cleaner

These products all contain high volumes of Sodium hypochlorite, so you need to be aware that using these products can kill the surrounding grass or plants around the patio if they are contaminated especially if you use the products neat and not watered down. Also be careful with your clothes, this product will bleach them.

How do I use these products?

First, we would suggest you give the area a good clean using a pressure washer. Make sure you allow the area to dry before any next step.

Then dilute the solution in a watering can (neat if the marks are bad) and work this in using a hard brushed broom.

You need to keep the area wet so mix the solution again and pour this on, you should see the solution working by now.  This may need repeating depending on how bad these black marks are on the patio.

Then simply wash the solution off using the pressure washer or garden hose.

Pierre explains all in this video:

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For further advice or information on our Carpet and Soft Furnishing care, please do not hesitate to contact the Art of Clean team on 01223 901547 in Cambridge. Our services include Carpet Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning, oriental and area Rug Cleaning, Curtain Cleaning, Patio, and Driveway Pressure washing, Leather Cleaning, Stone and Tile Floor Cleaning