Patio Cleaning

Very interested in some help from any experienced paving contractors. I've been cleaning a patio for a customer with general dirt and algae. I was using a deck brush to remove the algae from the 'raised pointing'. The skim of sand and cement on the surface came away when I brushed it to reveal the semi-dry mix with aggregate beneath. I think that this must be due to a weak mix in the mortar as I have cleaned many patios and this has not happened before. Can anyone enlighten me further please?
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  • Hi Alastair

    Has the vacinity where you undertook the project suffered from frost at all recently?
  • Many paving contractors brush in a dry mix rather than repointing slabs nowadays,because it saves time.
    When removing algae from patios i always recommend a organic algacide and let nature do its job
  • Thanks Michael, I think you're right. The way cement gathers strength is through remaining wet for as long as possible but a semi dry mix used for pointing dries before it can properly chemically cure and remains weak. This is the first time I've come across pointing that disintegrated when I used a non abrasive soft nylon pad. I spray Lithofin Algex after I've cleaned a patio, to prevent Algae from coming back so quickly. (can you recommend a good organic one please?). There was quite a lot of mud to remove from the pointing as well, so I had to clean it with a brush and soft pad. Cheers Alastair
  • Thanks Kerry, yes many frosts in the south this year, which has probably exacerbated the situation of the semi dry mix that Michael mentioned.
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