You Can Clean Your Grungy Landscape Stone
If you have fine gravel paths or a river rock patio, they probably looked great when you first laid them; However, after a few seasons, he starts to look a little tired. This is because dirt, pollen, and other particles can mix with the gravel, changing its color and making it look dirty. To freshen up your outdoor space without adding new gravel, you can try cleaning it up to bring it back to its original beauty.
The gravel tends to spread and mix with the dirt and plants at the border. This makes the edges clumpy rather than crisp, and can also be a problem when mowing or clearing weeds, as gravel stones can be swept away and thrown back by maintenance equipment. After a commotion like a storm or a few days of rain, and once your gravel is dry again, you should try to rake it back into place with a gravel rake .
What you need to clean gravel
For more intensive cleaning, you will need a garden hose or low pressure washer , a broom , a rake , a shovel , and a good stain remover . The type of stain remover or detergent you use depends on the type of dirt or stain. If you just need to do some general cleaning, white vinegar may be enough. If there is an oil stain, you may need a harsher detergent . If you have landscaping plants growing along the edges of the gravel, you can use a plant-safe cleaner . For gravel areas that have potholes or thin sections, you can also get extra gravel to fill it in.
Everything you need to decorate your gravel:
- High pressure washer tube from a garden hose
- (or low pressure washer )
- Broom
- Rake
- Shovel
- Good stain remover
- A little white vinegar
- (Or a harsher detergent )
- (Or plant cleaner )
How to clean gravel
Once you’ve gathered your tools and materials, the first step is to sweep the leaves and other debris off the gravel surface. It may seem counterintuitive to sweep gravel, but with a brush and a light touch, you can remove most of the leaves without wasting much gravel. You can also use a leaf blower for this, but it won’t handle dust and finer particles as well as a broom.
Then apply the stain remover of your choice to any stained areas, rubbing it into the gravel with a rake. Moving the gravel with the rake will help all surfaces of the gravel get some detergent on them. Don’t rake the area too wide or rocks in contact with the environment may spread the stain. Leave the detergent on for a few hours. For stubborn stains, leave the detergent on overnight to dissolve the stain.
Then use a hose or high pressure washer at the lowest possible speed to flush out the gravel. You should wear goggles for this part, as well as thick work gloves in case the pressure is high enough to throw the gravel into the air. However, the goal should be to move the gravel as little as possible while still moving smaller dirt particles. Once you have reached this golden mean, you should flush out the entire gravel surface.
Once your gravel is dry, you should rake the edges of your yard one more time to make sure they stay fresh and clean. Then add some gravel to any thin spots or bumps and smooth it out. You can also rinse a few times to get the gravel really clean.