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Dylan, we do a lot of block paving, Indian stone cleaning. Forget pressure washing, too time consuming with too much mess. We use Sodium Hypochlorite as an initial clean at a concentration of 30 to 50% in water depending on how dirty the material is. Best applied on a dull windless day to a surface that has been pre-damped, apply with a watering can with a fine rose ensuring that the surface is thoroughly wetted but not to the extent of run off. The most cost effective to buy the Hypochlorite is in 25lt drums from your local farm supplier, cost is around £30 drum it has a higher Hypochlorite content than supermarket, shop bought. Apply as previously described and just leave for at least 30 minutes before rinsing off. It won't have removed all the black spot but you will have a very clean surface which will show the black spot up more easily than a dirty surface. The remaining black spot treat with Ultimate black spot remover from www.pro-kleen.co.uk £30 for 5lts . Best used neat that's why I said use the Hypochlorite first as 5lt doesn't go far! This should sort.
Thanks Peter for your advice
Is sodium hypochlorite safe to use near grass and artificial grass etc as the patio runs off takes it away from the house.
Dylan. It will bleach any vegetative material, not sure on artificial grass. So hypo is a non starter if you can't stop the run off, you'll have to pressure wash instead then use the black spot remover.
Thanks Peter
i will use the old washing up liquid, scrub and pressure washer to prep the. Use the black spot remover to finish off on this one
thank you again for taking the time to come back to me
You're welcome
Anyone used a product called block blitz on this kind of job? Someone I work with has got the starter kit but havent had the right customer to test it out on yet
Dave, not used but watched videos on YouTube. Got to say I wasn't impressed. 8 pouches £30 which on their figures treat 120 sq Mt's, but seems multiple applications are needed on heavily stained areas, an example on their website shows block paving which needed four applications to get it back to something like with 2 week gaps between applications. So on the basis of charging the customer it looks like a minimum of two visits required with a two week gap. This obviously will affect the cost to the customer. We use benzacolium chloride, sodium hypochlorite primarily with one application, one visit does the job and cost of materials per sq Mt along with the customer not paying for multiple visits is substantially less. They make a thing of their eco credentials but like the methods we use any run off will damage plants and grass.
Has anyone use a Stihl Km power brush for larger areas when cleaning patios and driveways