If anyone has a wood stove, he can use ashes. Sprinkle generously a day before rain and let it work few days. Ashes and water release soda naturally (our grand-grandmothers used ashes to wash clothes). Minimum amount of it, so that it is not that bad for environment.
Works a treat i aim for doing this on a drizzly damp day. Personally i buy it in 10 kg bags and broadcast it thinly with a scoop and bucket. On a larger scale areas a stihl power brush and leaf blowrt speeds up the brushing away process greatly. Easier than spraying algacide soloution in many instances as often its a job to get dry weather.
I did this last year and it worked very well. Just about to do the blocks again this year. Not so much algae on surface as clumps of moss and sprigs of grass.
yes so do i , what i do is cover the drain shore with a piece of tin and the water just flows onto the path so i just brush quickly around as much as possible to cover as much ground as possible
I use my leaf blower. Just toss the baking soda in the intake and it powders the entire area. It also does not kill the grass. You can also use your vacuum in reverse. Toss the sauce in the business end without the filter and it comes out the exhaust.
Easier tip!! Spray mixture of white vinegar with a few drops of dish soap! Leave for 2-3 days. If it rains spray again. Power hose it down the driveway. LESS WORk!!! No scrubbing. Also kills weeds sticking thru pavement...the soap suffocates the roots!
going to give this a go , my path over the last few yrs has becom green and very slippy when wet , i bought a power cleaner but is sooo powerfull i cant get on with it and its allways popping off the tap in the kitchen making every where soaking wet so if this works it will be a great help and sooo much easier for me thanks
I just spent $2,500 to get rid of mine on my roof my a professional roof cleaner, got other quotes for over $2,500! I'm in Australia by the way, but job well done! I wish I could have done it myself, but have a large house and cannot get on top of the outside roof, too dangerous!
Definitely the best chemical for the job. Sodium Carbonate or Soda Ash is alkaline so using it around dogs and cats is not advisable. However, keep them in for a few days or until after the first rain shower or sprinkle water gently not to wash it away. It has a slightly higher than normal pH but is not in the same league as say caustic soda which is very corrosive. The good thing is it does not react with tar macadam or bitumen driveways, which can happen with other chemicals which will break up the tar binder or discolour it.
That's not necessary. The biggest worry is white paw prints being brought into the home. Vets give Soda Crystals to dogs as an emetic if they've swallowed something they shouldn't. eg www.londonvetclinic.co.uk/advice.aspx?a=1250&clientId=20138
Biological washing powder does it in 24hrs. Just get some cheap Aldi/Lidl powder and sprinkle it on in dry weather. If it doesn't rain, as above, dampen it after 12 hours. Next day - moss has died. Brush away with a stiff brush. CHEAP!
Lots of people say, 'just use a pressure washer'. BUT: 1. Not everyone has one 2. You spend just as long cleaning down the splattered mess If you don't let the moss get as bad as that in the video, you can almost keep moss at bay without any brushing or scraping. The dead moss is merely washed/worn away by traffic. Try to minimise any run off from the soda crystals onto plants or lawns (for obvious reasons).
Not sure what purple power is. Soda Crystals can be bought for 70p a bag, so there really isn't else much cheaper. It's a natural bio-degradable product. Although there are lots of alternatives as people point out, but Soda Crystals are cheap and easy to use.
I would like to learn where one can purchase the Soda Crystals for 70p, as Tesco's sell it but only 1kilo not one and half kilo packs) well over £1.39 (keeps going up, can't keep up with price changes). Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose charge more when stocked but not all stores stock this. More stores need to stock the Dri Pak brand or get their own name on same at a cheaper price and pass onto their customers, to earn themselves more customer appreciation.
Why do you think that is? Because it makes more sense than some chemical that desolves dirt optically? It doesnt get RID OF THE DIRT! That the whole point.
That made us literally laugh out loud! You Tube is possibly the worst social media platform for trolls and keyboard warriors. We thrive on engaging with customers and non-customers alike as we have a lot of knowledge to share. Of course, abuse, profanity and spam just gets removed and the offender blocked.
well I get 3kilo bags from asda for 1pound 50 pence that did about 45 3 foot slabs and I did it twice . the bus route out side my house leaves bad derv marks black residue on them it moved all that .and they are ivory .make me wonder what I'm breathing in .I have not tried to buy anywhere else .I have not tried soda so cannot say as to the results .all best pal.by the way killed all weeds .
When watering the crystals straight away - Is there any issue with keeping dogs away from the mix on the ground ? And - can it be mixed in a watering can or sprayer to give a more even spread and make it go further?
That's definitely an option. The ideal time is after it has rained but not due to rain again. ie it will stick to the ground and not get blown/washed away. In other words, less Soda Crystals will be needed. Pets aren't an issue as it's only a mild alkali.
Will this stop it from growing back? I live in a top floor flat with balcony . With the good weather the moss had already died so I managed to scrape off myself, but you can still see the spores . How do I stop it from growing back
If you sprinkle on to damp ground, so that it resembles icing sugar on a Victoria sandwich, the crystals will be held in place and the alkalinity will work on the moss. Any run off would be minute.
sorry for the delay. Yes you can just wash it away (or wait for the rain). You could also put down something mildly acidic if you do need it looking ship shape pronto.
No get a big water butt and put some old copper pipes in it. Let rain water in and leave so it gets the copper filaments. Then use the water over your driveway or whatever. Maybe have 2 setups and keep doing every week. Will not develop or very little moss ever.
Really - seems a right faff and hardly ideal for more infirm people. On most drives, if done a couple of times over autumn/winter, you just need to sprinkle on. This was a 10 yr old drive that is in constant shade.
No it's not poison. Yes, you need to watch for run off on to flower beds, but unless you're using LOADS of the stuff and there's a downpour, it's not an issue in practice. If you sprinkle lightly onto the damp ground, then it stays in place.
If applied directly - yes. It's working on the basis that it's an alkali. Strong enough pH to prevent plant life thriving but also biodegradable and not corrosive, so not a danger to pets and wildlife (although slugs and snails will avoid the area)
Seeing as Soda Crystals is simply a mild alkali (like washing powder) and the number one laundry additive in the UK, then totally fine. Hopefully you're not confusing them with caustic soda.
I don't fancy buying and using chemicals to remove moss on concrete. One thing I've noticed is that moss grows where dirt to grow on accumulates. You can observe that in the video --- when brushing up dead moss, mkost of what is being scooped up is DIRT! Also, you see moss growing in areas that accumulate dirt because of wind patterns, and that can be observed in the video as well. My technique uses a wire brush fitted with threads so that it can be installed on a threaded pole. I then use a five gallon buckets of water from my rain barrels and soak an area of moss and use the wire brush to remove the moss down to the concrete. Then use a square point shovel to shovel the moss to the grass, or just flush the debris off with more buckets of water. Let the area dry and see if you need to repeat. Then make a point to muse a broom or blower to keep leaves, dirt and debris from accumulating to provide the basis for more moss to grow. No dirt ---no moss. You can observe that for yourself! Here's an example of the brush I use. You can buy one with a pole if needed, but most people probably have those available I would suppose.: www.harborfreight.com/block-wire-brush-57291.html?campaignid=12169631175&adsetid=114847942937&product=57291&store=377&gclid=CjwKCAiAvK2bBhB8EiwAZUbP1MqObxNdEfo5iI6o_U4CLWC6oBoLV7FVC-zESpG6zDIYar0NJ5g9NxoC4J8QAvD_BwE
Why don't you just make up a strong solution of soda crystals and water and pour it on the effected area. Ie 1 bag per bucket. You can then wash it away a few days later. ...?
That's definitely an option. The ideal time is after it has rained but not due to rain again. ie it will stick to the ground and not get blown/washed away. In other words, less Soda Crystals will be needed.
No - similar but slightly different. Key here is that Soda Crystals (Sodium Carbonate Decahydrate) are more alkali so more effective on moss. Plus they're cheaper.
Step One: Scrape the moss from the surface and dispose of it. Step Two: Use a stiff push broom to remove smaller particles from the surface then sweep them up with a kitchen broom and dust pan. Step Three: Buy baking soda/moisture absorber from a big box hardware store and apply liberally over the area to be treated. Step Four: If the surface is dry, sprinkle lightly with water and let sit overnight or longer. Step Five: Use water and a push broom to rinse the material away.
Sounds like a lot of hard work. If moss isn't that bad (unlike the drive in this video) then you don't even have to do anything other than sprinkle, as in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ay3Q9KEK8c0.html
It might work well but it’s incredibly bad for the environment. Particularly cheap powder. It contains chemicals that won’t biodegrade. It all ends up in the waterways, reduces the oxygen in the water and ultimately kills fish.
@ASMR Isah yes - not to mention making splatter mess. The drive featured was extreme to show how it works. If you do it a few times over the autumn/winter months there's no effort at all. Just sprinkle and leave it to work (so long as rain doesn't wash it away).
Algon is acetic acid (the acid found in white vinegar) and a surfactant (like washing up liquid). In other words, it's working in exactly the same way - applying a layer of product with a pH that is inhospitable to plant life (including algae). The downside is that using an acid might affect the colour within coloured flags; an alkali won't.
Jeyes Fluid does the same job, much cheaper. Two questions; Why did you let the moss get so bad? And why are you shovelling the dead moss towards a drain? You end up with a clear pathway and a blocked drain. You look like someone who doesn't do much outdoor work.
This is the data sheet for Jeyes dchd.co.uk/admin/SDS_JeyesFluid1L.pdf Lots of people are looking for more natural alternatives. Soda Crystals are bio-degradable and have far fewer health & safety implications. This was a neighbour's drive who hadn't touched it in 11 years...hence the offer of help and to demonstrate how effective they are on a worst case scenario. The detritus was shovelled into a bin. The only brushing was of the rinse water into the drain. There was nothing that would cause blockage. if you look at the grate size, then nothing of any size would have gone down anyway. Soda Crystals can be bought for around 70p a bag so are much cheaper. The idea is that this tip can be used by people that don't necessarily do a lot of outdoor work. But thanks for stopping by...all comments gratefully received.
Dri Pak thank you for the info. In my ignorance, I thought the soda crystals would be detrimental to the environment. I stand corrected. I like to see people helping their neighbour, so kudos for that.
Jeyes fluid is notorius for washing away the bitumen binder of a tarmac drive. In a couple of years you will end up with stones breaking away and the need to resurface again. Also not good for the environment. The beauty of soda ash is that it is a fairly mild alkali and will neutralise fairly quickly.
