Revitalize Your Patio: Pressure Wash Vs. Chemical Clean - Which Is Best? 

You should have said “lichen and subscribe”. 😂😂

As a testament to how good your videos are, I do not have a patio or any stonework to wash and yet I watched your video all the way through. Thanks, Stuart.

@Proper DIY - when you used the head you didn’t rinse the patio down afterwards. A trick you can use is to lift the head about 4 inches off the ground and rotate the head to 45 degrees and you can use it to quickly wash away all of the material you have just loosened. Much quicker than using the standard pressure washer lance to clean it up afterwards. Doing this method means you can wash the debris away as you go along.

Another advantage of the rotating head patio cleaner and actually a bonus compared to the lance is for those people with decking. The lance can be too powerful and actually make your decking furry with tiny raised wood splinters. The patio cleaner heads don't do this.

Wet and Forget is by far the best patio cleaner, but don't expect it to work overnight, over a week or over a month. It works over months. The green algae is dealt with over the first week. The Black lichen takes longer much longer, the progress can't be seen day to day but over a couple of months and there it is the black lichen starts to fade. Obviously before you start clean off all the loose dirt with water and a broom. Using a pressure washer pits your paving stones and creates more crevices where black lichen grows. So apply "wet & Forget" in March and September and your patios and paths will remain algae and lichen free.

Great advice, cheers for sharing.

Few handfuls of sharp sand, water and a broom. Good scrub, done. No need for expensive equipment or harmful chemicals.

Excellent summary Stuart; is that a new drone/toy we see? Containing the spray in one of these patio cleaners also means you don't waste time rinsing off your walls, doors and windows.

Fantastic video, many thanks for making this one!

Good Review Stuart, great video

Thanks Stuart great information as I clean my sons patio every year using a normal pressure washer

We've also used our Karcher rotary heads with just the gun - no extension tubes - to clean the green off the rendered walls of our workshop.

Ours Karcher arrived over the Easter weekend, just gave it a go today and it looks good.

Thanks Stuart have ordered this product from your link keep up the good work

Thank you, used the chemical way of cleaning my patio, as pressure washer blast out the grout. Worked perfectly great way of cleaning patio thanks again

Great review

Have used the T racer for years. Great bit of kit. Also use Sodium hypo but remember to wash all kit thoughlly after. It'll eat through that sprayer if left.

I’ve just borrowed a a Karcher as we have moved to a new home. Previously I used a product Wet and Forget which I used to apply via a watering can fitted with a fine rose and it worked very well. I was impressed with the enclosed head as it saved me from getting covered in water and grime. Great vid 👍🏻

Lovely house and garden 👍🏻

I bought a different Karcher surface clearer attachment a few years ago. Mine didn't come with different nozzles or height adjustments. What it did come with was an actual bearing in the housing that the nozzles spin in while the other models here in the big box stores just spun on a bushing. It does an amazing job.

I have tried the Parkside product, the results were pretty good.

Great video Stewart, I have a Titan washer, went through quite a few of the”Yellow ones” useless!! The Titan came with quite a few accessories, including the one you demonstrated, don’t think I was using it slowly enough, will try again. Thanks.

Thanks Stuart, I like the fact that you return to stuff like this as it's what we all tend to do with jobs like this that you do once or twice a year and wonder if there's a better way or a great new gadget to buy ! It's personal preference of course but I don't mind the lichen, I remove moss and algae as they can be unsightly, slippery and hold moisture on the surface where it may over time do damage to a natural stone but Lichen does none of this and is a sign of good clean air ! I use bleach occasionally in places to keep down the algae in awkward corners where it gets slippery, and I also pour plain boiling water on the moss on our tarmac driveway where it's in the shade so doesn't dry out - this is quite effective (although not instant) and of course is chemical free. I might try is sometime with my steam cleaner/stripper to see if this is also effective as it will save repeatedly boiling the kettle ! Doing this occasionally means that when I come to jet wash it, it is a quicker and easier job, as jetting out the moss from the tarmac takes ages and is a filthy job - btw I don't find the rotary cleaners work well in this scenario, it's tornado nozzle all the way !

Thanks for the video. I was considering buying a new Jetwash as my Halfords PW20 doesn't have the decking attachment. However, you stated the parkside came with an adapter so I thought I'd give it a try and it fits. Managed to get the whole patio done yesterday!!! The spinning nozzle stopped a few times, but nothing a quick flick didn't solve. A bargain too.

I've always used thin bleach from any supermarket which I've found effective without dilution, however it's most effective if you wet the area to be cleaned first and any excess water run off. My indian sandstone supplier recommended that at it works a treat.

Thanks for this; very useful vid

Most of the professionals who clean drives & patios use a combination of all 3 methods to do the job. They use the turbo nozzle for the edging and hard to reach areas. Surface cleaner for large areas. Then they finish off with the bleach spray for that final pop. So I wouldn't just use one method.

Ordered the Sodium Hypochlorite using your link - cheers 🙂

I have previously used a copper sulphate solution after pressure washing and that has kept the algae away very well. However, I recently used a Spear and Jackson product (others are available) and I was very impressed.

Stuart thanks for this! Lovely sunny day today, watched this when I got up - been feeling under the weather for a week and thought I need to get out! Nipped to Lidl bought the attachment over the K’archer one I previously had a few years ago and didn’t rate it! Spent the rest of the morning and this afternoon cleaning my composite decking, sandstone patio and 20 odd year old teak garden table and 6 chairs! Enjoyed the fresh air - glad it inspired me to get out - well I’m impressed with the Parkside surface cleaner head on my K’archer! - job done and garden looks great! Thanks for the push! Mrs S says thanks too!😂

I bought a pressure washer kit from one of the big box stores and for £95 it came with one of the rotary cleaning heads, a standard, adjustable lance and a laser lance. No jet kits I'm assuming it was fitted with the correct jets for the K2 pressure washer that was in the kit. It works really well but the only thing I don't like about it is that the head is too light and it takes a lot of wrist strength to keep it down. I fixed this but adding a lead weight to the head (a piece of old lead pipe worked into a ring that I just dropped over the extension tube that sits on the head) and this has made it perfect for me.

Use the sodium hypochlorite with care when treating colorful paving stones. Higher concentrations of the sh solution will tend to fade the colors much more quickly than a lower concentration.

Hypo plus a powered rotary brush/street sweeper from the tool hire also cleans moss from tarmac driveways. Then seal with Liquafix. Well so I've been told an I'm trying it this summer.

I love my T-Racer but When you need to replace the nozzles and you will eventually you have to buy a pack of all the nozzles even thought you only want 1 pair that fits your powerwasher flow. The replacement nozzles are £15

I usually pour diluted vinegar on the patio a few days before i use the rotary head on it. Seems to make it easier and gets rid of the worst of the green.

I have the Aldi Ferrex rotating head. Very very similar. Does an ok job but you need the power of the lance for stubborn stains.

If you have rust stains you can use barkeepers friend. Also, don't forget to seal it with silicone patio sealer.

I use the Karcher patio cleaner, makes less of a mess. Hypo mixed with water and some detergent, scrubbed into the driveway with a yard brush and then the spinning patio cleaner When it's dry brush over with rock salt to keep the weeds at bay all year.

pick up Red Label Hypochlorite from a farmers supply shop.. they use to clean the milking apparatus. All bleech however will facilitate salt crystals, which algae will fed off. so this form of cleaning is temporary... within about 3-4months a greenwash will occur and you end back to the point you started.

Think I’ll invest in the Parkside cleaner. It looked so easy compared to our Titan cleaner from Screwfix where we have to fight to keep it down on the patio surface. We’re soaked when we’ve finished!

If using hypo make sure you clean the lance out with cold water as it dissolves your metal spring in your lance

I confess I watch vids of surface cleaning and came across their use of "hypo". Bought some a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. Because of my paving arrangement I hose down the slabs first creating significant ponding, then literally pour/dribble it from the can all over then spend a few minutes with my yard broom mixing and agitating as I go. Yes I have completely knackered some socks/trackies (blue goes to pink!) but it's absolutely 100% efficient in doing the job. quick and thorough. Then rinse. I also use the Karcher patio head for other areas where plants/grass are close by and like you found it to be much nicer to use than the lance. Great video Stuart, you really do cover the topics we need you to! Edit meant to say, try the Hypo on brickwork, even if vertical although need the sprayer for that. My retaining wall was transformed.

Nice video! I've always been skeptical so good to see it's worth trying, I will have to see if it works with a nilfisk pressure washer

I live in Houston Texas....we have very high humidity year round. I have to use bleach on my patio steps , because they get slick from algae. Helpful video, thanks Stuart !

I used sodium hypochlorite recently. I diluted per the instructions 1:10 solution and found that spraying alone was insufficient and I got a better result when I scrubbed a bit with a yard brush as well. The end result was ok but there are still black spots. I can see why you got a better result with a stronger solution - I spilled a drop of undiluted liquid when filling the sprayer and crikey! I’m a bit cautious about going against the manufacturer’s recommended dilution and as you said it’s nasty stuff if you get it anywhere on your skin so needs careful handling. It’s cheap as chips though

My wife loves Hypo, she has her hypo clothes which are bleached, sprays it on diluted 3 to 1 and leaves it, then scrubs with a stiff yard brush and hoses off. We did our yard and next door last weekend and it looks awesome.

5L vinegar, 1cup salt, 1cup bleach + 1tbs fairy liquid, is my go to for block drive and patio cleaner

We use a great product called 'Wet n Forget'. You can spray it on to freshly cleaned surfaces, and they stay clean for an unbelievable amount of time afterwards. Alternatively, you can apply it to dirty surfaces and watch it gradually clean them over a few months. The difference that it makes under both scenarios really is outstanding. Actually, it would make a good short video. Spray an area, leave it, then come back to it a few months later. I think that you will be surprised and it doesn't have the downsides of bleach.

You can add a surfactant in with the sodium hypochlorite and water mix

I bought my Kärcher K2 a few years ago in a kit which included a T150 patio cleaner. It lacks the adjustments of the bigger model used in this review. It does a good job. The kit is available today.

Another great video Stuart, well done! I've used both a pressure washer and bleach with good results from both. However the bleach can soon ruin a pair of trousers or a shirt and you really need a pair of those lightweight plastic overalls which go in the bin after use! Also don't leave the bleach in your sprayer because it will ruin the rubber seals. All from experience 😭. Regards Keith

I always thought the patio cleaners were a bit of a gimmick compared to doing it "properly" with a lance head, however my latest pressure washer came with one as part of the bundle of bits and I am a convert. Does it a do as good a job as a lance? No, but it is so much faster and much less messy that I don't mind. Even if you do a perfect job on your patio it's going to get green and mucky by the next season anyway, so why waste your time trying to do a perfect job when you can get 90% of the way there in a fraction of the time. A tip for anyone who is annoyed by transition lines (I'm not, but some might be). Do you your corners and awkward areas with the lance first, then use the patio head, you can then blend the transition line together by spending a little more time with the patio head in those areas and run a bit quicker over the bulk of the patio. Will save you a lot of time on a big patio.

I use your original flat spray nozzle for car cleaning but there is a rotary lance nozzle for the patio, eats up weeds. Might get me one of the shrouded surface cleaner from parkside, less mess and cheaper

You should have added a surfactant, it’s a foaming agent that allows the SH to sit on the uneven surface for longer, I use a car wash foam gun. You also can’t let SH dry as it stops working. The issue you’re having with the leaking is the solution corroding the sprayer, it is quite brutal. You need to wash the sprayer out many times after use. You also need to tell people to pre water grass and flowers so it doesn’t ruin them.

Hi Stuart, I use my t-racer to clean my van roof, as where I park there is a lime tree which turns the roof black in a matter of days. I would imagine that cleaner will get banned at some point, as anything that is effective gets banned like decent weedkillers and paint strippers. Another good video.

I have been using these patio cleaners for around 15 years now. They proved to be the go-to tool for my patios, however, they have their limits, moss would be one of them. You also need to have a proper-sized pressure washer, mine is 140 bars and 500 liters per hour, and you can really tell the difference from the 100 bar one I had before. Spins really fast, you can pass it over the surface a lot quicker, and it gets a good result after the first pass. Not too fond of chlorine or chemicals, as I get asthma quite easily from their awful smell, and I don't want to damage my beautiful lawn.

Great 👍🏾 video.

I use mine for a long 6ft high brick wall. As well as oaths etc.

Another thing about sodium hypochlorite, as it is a strong oxidizer (that's why it works) it will also damage metal surfaces. Even stainless can be discolored and corroded. And a place which you might not immediately consider, some stones have a high iron concentration, and thus might also discolor from its usage.

Hypo u can buy at some farm shops in bulk containers

Karcher do patio cleaner where if you use it like snow foam, then use the rotator head, you’re patio is sparkling.

Thank you for your informative video especially the chemical. I have a request test for you as we are moving house with no thermostat that I could see. So the challenge is what is the best thermostat for you boiler that doesn’t have to be wired in 🤔. Thanks again for your many videos.

Great content as always, missing some innuendos in my opinion ;). Best from Portugal!

I’ve used Deosan Red available in farm suppliers in 20ltr cheap effective …. But don’t leave on to long !!!

A far more environmentally friendly, yet very effective, cleaner is sodium percarbonate. It comes in powder form, and when added to waterbreaks down to hydrogen peroxide and sodium bicarbonate. The peroxide cleans and sterilises, and the sodium bicarbonate increases the pH to prevent mold. It's the active ingredient in "oxygen bleach" laundry boosters. The 100% concentration powder you'd need is sold by home brewing companies because it's used to sterilise equipment used in home brewing. I don't like sodium hypochlorite because it leaves chlorine in the soil. Sodium percarbonate just leaves sodium bicarbonate bicarbonate which is non-toxic. If you watch Partidge Exterior Cleaning's videos, Sid uses a LOT of PPE when he's using hypo.....including a respirator (mask).

The different nozzle maybe the conical one. It spins internally and emits a very high pressure jet, use for stubborn dirt the rotary won’t touch. The lance you have is more for general jet washing. I used the hypochlorite, as it will also help stop weeds appearing, otherwise your just watering the weeds with the rotary. Best I’ve used was a sack of MOT I left sitting all winter. Now I’ve moved it, the blocks underneath are now like brand new. What’s in MOT for that to happen ?

Bought the parkside after watching this and just done 2 24 square meter patios with it. A bloody revelation 🤦‍♂️

If you apply a biocide after cleaning the patio then that stops the re growth of moss and lichen.

I am now absolutely convinced this my phone is listening to me, i have never seen a video from yourself, and as "coincidence" has it, i just purchased that parkside head cleaner and pressure washer yesterday though ive not used any other brands to compare with im perfectly happy with the performance. I equate if not better to a couple of 40p bottles of bleach, which is what i used last year. As long as you rinse everything down there is no problem using bleach. My summary is either works just depends on situation and availability of a water source. I also appreciate not getting soaked!

I’ve used Sodium Hypochlorite neat on tough stains, it’s awesome. Use a long handled small paint roller to avoid over spray and splash. Perfect on Indian Sandstone. Great video PD 👍

Nice video. May I ask what sprayer you used for the chemical cleaner?

Unpack patio cleaning kit from garage, come in for a cuppa, and here’s the video of my afternoon :)

You can also spray your wood cladding with the softwash, will come up like new.

Could you do a video on best window cleaning equipment?

I highly recommend applying some weed killer a week or two before, slicing the green off the weeds like that won't kill them and they'll be back in two weeks. You should wear a mask while applying hypo, it's nasty stuff with links to respiratory issues.

Chucklevision esq theme tune. Catchy tho

Potassium Hypochlorite is used agriculturally to control control algae and bacteria in irrigation water etc. The plants can then utilized the potassium as it (in very dilute quantities) a fertilizer. Also, there is little benefit from using stronger solutions than recommended. Remember, water is needed for the hypochlorite to work effectively.

I believe you can get a splatter shield to attach above a standard head to reduce the over spray onto you. BUT I've never used one. However. I've owned and used a T-Racer for over a decade. I first saw one about 20 years ago on launch.

I found my rotary Karcher patio cleaner next to useless compared to using the lance on its own when doing my tiles driveway

cracking video

Think you can use them on walls and flat roofs, plastic conservatory roofs etc..

The spinning device is absolutely perfect for block paving, less debris ejected and less chance of washing out under the block paving. It’s not so good for uneven surfaces.

Would I be able to use the bleach on my porcelain slabs? Thanks for the video

I use household bleach with a stiff brush then rinse with a hose. Hard work but does the job.

I found pressure washing block paving can disturb the sand between the bricks and make the driveway unstable.

Even the Karcher rotating head does a very poor job on my cotswold buff slabs. The highest pressure 'rotating jet' mode on the standard K7 lance does a much better job although you do get wet!

If you have a van or 4x4, you can turn it upside down and jet wash the underside of your vehicle. Great video stuart.

Do you whether the parkside comes with an adapter suitable for a Nilfisk pressure washer?

What can I use for the green moss on my tarmac driveway?

Flipping the patio cleaner over is great for cleaning under the car after a gritty winter.

Should I use a patio sealer after cleaning?

Does this affect the grout between each paving slab?

Hi. Would these spinning heads remove Sika brush-in from the joints? Thank you.

I would recommend that when cleaning a patio not to imagine vacuuming a carpet but mowing the lawn. Long over-lapping runs is more efficient and gives an even finish. One weak point of the patio cleaner discs is the point where the shaft joins the disc plate. The Karcher is too weak to stand up to regular use. Buy a brand with a more substantial fixing.

What was the bleach you used? If we don't have a power washer

When using Hypo soak the the grass avoids killing off the grass and you still need the pressure washer with hypo to flush the yard . Remember farmers use that stuff in the milking parlour and there’s no way the cattle would out for 2 days

Is the bleach product safe to use on Indian sandstone patio ?

Would these brushes work on wooden decking

I’ve had a speed racer(a much earlier model) for some time and found it struggled with anything with an uneven surface, so the concrete flags are done with that, and the indian sandstone has to be done with the lance. You’re stone must be very finely rectified Stuart?

I use soap powder but it must be bio. Sprinkle it on when rain is forcast or dilute with hot water and apply with watering can.