Jose Wheeler
With spring cleaning right the around the corner, consider starting your cleaning outside this year. Here are a few tips that will help you get your pavers looking great for spring.
#1 Sweep Your Pavers
The first thing you need to do is sweep your pavers. This is a great way to remove the lose debris that has accumulated on your pavers during the winter months. Try to sweep to the outer edge of your pavers so that you push the dirt off onto the surrounding ground.
#2 Spray Down With A Garden Hose
The second thing you want to do is take a garden house and, with an attachment, spray down your pavers. This is a great way to remove the dirt and mud that may have gotten onto your pavers over the winter months that doesn't come off so easily. You should be able to effectively clean your pavers without using a pressure washer.
#3 Get Rid of Stains
After you have swept and sprayed down your pavers with a garden hose, you should be able to see and identify any stains that may have developed over the winter months.
To remove most stains, all you will need to do is get out a little dish washing detergent. Directly apply the dish washing detergent to the stain in question. Then, use a scrub brush to scrub and remove the stain. Once you think the stain is gone, rinse away the soap and dirt with your hose. You may have to repeat this process a few times. This should work well on stains left behind from fall leaves and anything that may have gotten dropped on your pavers.
If you have oil stains on your pavers, the dish soap may not be enough. If the dish soap doesn't work, you are going to want to purchase some oil remover. You can generally find oil remover at your local auto parts store. It is pretty simple to use. Just apply it to the stain, let it sit the appropriate length of time as described on the container, scrub at the stain, and then rinse it away.
#4 Add Extra Sand
During the winter months, the sand that fills the space in between your pavers may have worn down a little due to all the wet weather. Spring is a great time to replenish the sand that has been removed over time. Just pick up a bag of refined sand and pour it into the cracks. To make things easier, you may want to use a funnel to get the sand exactly where you want it.
When I was young, I loved helping my mother in the garden. Our yard was filled with plants and flowers that she kept in immaculate condition. Once I was an adult and bought my first home, I learned that there was much more to landscaping a yard than I ever imagined! After a little trial and error planting a few flowers in my yard that died quickly, I realized the technology that is available to aspiring gardeners makes trial and error a thing of the past. After I found out what my "hardiness zone" was, I realized I was planting flowers made for much cooler climates, and I played around with software that let me design my yard very easily! I learned a lot throughout the experience, so I thought I would share my tips with everyone who needs them. Come back often to check out my new tips!