???'s on cleaning brick sidewalks

[stoppie101 20]

i'm doing a job later in the week at a very nice house, upwards of $300,000+. the lady has a brick sidewalk that she wants washed. her sprinkler system is causeing small spots of mold/algie to grow on the brick. what chems would you recomend and why? do you recomend heat? keep in mind that she has grass and plants lining the walkway. also, on her concrete porch, she has a few small rust stains from metal flower pots. should i spot treat those areas with chlorine?

[Paul B. 523]

Chlorine will not remove rust stains - Home Depot has a product called "The Must for Rust"; Prosoco has a product called Ferrous Stain Remover; and oxalic acid should work also.

I would clean the brick pavers with detergent & chlorine added. 1:3 dilution of 10% pool shock will get you good results. Rinse well and you should have no problems.

[JustMe 14]

I was just going to post this very topic as well, can a surface cleaner be used on them also or is that to invasive, I suppose the sand is going to need to be replaced as it would surely blow it out?

Sorry, not trying to hijak your thread, just thought we could combine them :)

[stoppie101 20]

I was just going to post this very topic as well, can a surface cleaner be used on them also or is that to invasive, I suppose the sand is going to need to be replaced as it would surely blow it out?

Sorry, not trying to hijak your thread, just thought we could combine them :)

not a problem. great question. as far as the sand goes. your gonna blow it out either way. you will have alittle more control with the wand, but the over spray is still gonna get you. the walk that i'm doing has mortar so i dont have to worry about that. i was however thinking about keeping the pressure turned down anyway though.

[paul-uk 500]

ron...you will have to put the sand back without a doubt.....not sure how hot it is where you are but usualy the area needs to dry out, otherwise the sand will stick where it is still wet and a few days later after a dry spell and a bit of traffic it will need resanding again......hth

[JustMe 14]

Great, thanks for the response on that, good information!

[CLASSICPW 14]

Great, a bag of sand. If I put one more thing on my truck it's gonna flip over. I havent dealt with this one yet. I've always had the mortar type.

[JustMe 14]

LOL, your front wheels are going to be off the ground!

[Aplus 525]

Pauls right about having to wait for the bricks to dry out before installing sand.

If you have to add sand, make sure it is jointing sand, not play sand. Pour it out, and spread around with a stiff bristled shop broom.

It is impossible to pressure wash pavers without blowing out the sand, regardless of the pressure you use. Make sure to inform the customer, and then offer your service for installing the replacement sand. A 50# bag is about $3. What you charge to install it, is up to you.

[JustMe 14]

Thanks for the info, that is good to know..

[Aplus 525]

Sure, you could use a surface cleaner, but I think if there is thick moss between the joints it's just as well to use a wand with a 25 or 40 degree tip. There will be a lot of debris flying during the wash.

I've found that many paver brick areas are shaped so as not to be conveniant with my 30" surface cleaner. Maybe a smaller surface cleaner would work better.

Here's a couple pix.

[Aplus 525]

Lots of black algae/mold growing here.....

[paul-uk 500]

if you have to use a wand aka tonys thumbnail invest in a 4ft one with a small bend at the end...if you do decks you will probably have one of these......also a squegee is a must.....

[CannonW 14]

OK... I am going to put my ignorance on display... I have never cleaned brick. What are you talking about when you refer to the sand? Does brick have a layer of sand on it?

[Firedkm 14]

OK... I am going to put my ignorance on display... I have never cleaned brick. What are you talking about when you refer to the sand? Does brick have a layer of sand on it?

The sand is used to "lock" the bricks or concrete pavers in place. The sand is basically pushed down the crevaces in between each brick.

When you clean them you will remove some of the sand and loosen up the brick.

[paul-uk 500]

cannon...check this site out...... http://www.pavingexpert.com/setout01.htm

once you know whats going on you can go ahead and clean it.....