When you add pavers to your home, you not only improve the curb appeal of your house, but you also add value to your home! However, maintaining your paving stones can be difficult and may lead to problems if it is not done correctly.
Keep reading to learn more about washing paving stones, how often to clean pavers, potential risks from paver washing, paver sealing, and more!
What Are Pavers?
Pavers are a type of hardscaping that uses slabs and blocks of stones to create beautiful patios, driveways, and pathways in your outdoor space!
There are many different types of pavers that differ in material, design, and more. Most often, pavers are made from natural stone, brick, or concrete. These pavers are a great alternative to stamped concrete or plain concrete slabs.
They are aesthetically beautiful and can be laid in many interesting patterns!
How to Keep Them Clean
Cleaning your pavers is the best way to keep them looking new and bright. However, you want to make sure your cleaning solution doesn’t damage your pavers. Before you clean the entire area, test out a small area of your pavers to make sure it will not result in any damage.
Often, the type of solution you use will come with cleaning directions for your pavers. If they don’t, you can use a hose or pressure washer to clean your pavers.
Make sure you don’t use your pressure washer in close range or at a steep angle! Keeping it at a low angle will help prevent damage to your paving stones and will provide safe cleaning.
Something you may want to keep in mind is if your paver cleaning solution is environmentally friendly. Because you are cleaning your outdoor space, the cleaning solution will likely run into your gutters or even your grass. Make sure it is safe to use outside!
It is also vital to promptly clean and remove anything that could damage your pavers. For example, if you have an oil spill, quickly soak it up to prevent staining!
If you are worried about damaging your pavers, you can hire a professional company to do your paver maintenance for you! Not only will they safely pressure wash your stones, but they can also reapply the sealant to your paving stones!
Risks When Washing Pavers
The number one risk associated with washing pavers is that you may remove the sealant of your paver stones. Often, pavers come with a waterproof sealant that protects from weather, erosion, and even staining!
The most common way to clean pavers is through high-power pressure washing. However, if done incorrectly, this power washing may damage your sealant and other aspects of your pavers. This is why it is important to hire a professional service that knows how to properly clean your pavers!
Another common issue that happens when you wash pavers is that it can erode your stone pavers. This often happens because homeowners pressure wash their patios or pathways too frequently. While it is important to keep your pavers clean, it really only needs to be cleaned once every two to four years.
Finally, frequent pressure washing may also cause issues with dislodged pavers. When you use high-power pressure washing on your pavers, it may wear down the sand between each block of stone. This sand is also known as paver joint sand.
If you have damaged the joint sand in your pavers, you can have them replaced. However, you can avoid this damage when you hire a professional company that specializes in paver cleaning!
How Often to Clean Pavers
As was mentioned previously, you only need to deep clean your pavers every two to four years. Depending on the condition your pavers are in, you may need to clean them more often.
However, there are other types of paver maintenance that need to be done more regularly to keep your pavers in excellent condition!
First, it is important to use a bristle brush to sweep your pavers at least once a year. This will help remove any debris that may be stuck to your pavers and will keep them looking clean and fresh.
It is also vital to remove weeds that pop up between your pavers. If you leave these weeds for too long, it can cause your pavers to shift and may even crack the stones.
If you want to prevent weeds from popping up in the first place, you may consider adding a weed preventative to your pavers to prevent the weeds from growing.
Finally, it is also vital to reapply the sealant to your pavers at least every three to five years. There are many reasons you want to reseal your pavers.
First, it protects your pavers from the weather, corrosion, and other types of grime. Pavers without sealant may grow mold or mildew as well. The sealant also prevents your pavers from getting any unsightly stains.
Reapplying your sealant will also help preserve the color of your pavers! This will keep them looking new and bright for years to come.
Finally, using sealant on your pavers will help with drainage! Rather than seeping through your pavers, it will help rain and other natural elements drain better.
Find a Professional Paver Washing Company Today!
When you are cleaning your pavers, there are many risks. You may damage your paver sealing or cause other issues! If you want to keep your pavers in great condition, you can find a professional paver washing service to help! Pro Seal is a power washing company in Northern New Jersey that also specializes in paver sealing.
Our services can restore the beauty of your pavers and will keep them in great condition for years to come. If you want to learn more about our services or if you want to book an appointment, contact our team today!