How to Protect Pavers & Patio Stones in the Winter
Our winters are harsh on everything outside, including our pavers and patio stones. While they are engineered to handle the cold weather and do so better than many other hardscaping materials, it is still wise to give them a bit of extra protection. One of the best things you can do to protect your pavers is to clean them instead of letting dirt, leaves, and other sources of damage build up over the winter. Here are some cleaning tips to help you protect your pavers.
1. Clean Leaves and Organic Matter
Come fall time, everyone’s patio is covered in leaves. You might also have plants encroaching on the patio from your garden or moss, mould and fungi growing on it. If they are left on the stones during the winter, these green growths will harm your patio and potentially leave stains. Luckily, you have a few options when it comes to removing them.
- Sweep or blow: You can sweep your patio or paver stones or use a leaf blower to remove all of the loose green matter from them.
- Scrub: Sometimes, a stiff brush and a bit of gentle soap are all that is needed to remove things like mould and fungi growth.
- Treat stains: Use an organic stain remover to remove any green stains leftover from previous years or any greenery this year that got out of hand.
2. Clean Dirt and Grease
What if you scrubbed your patio stones as instructed in the last step, but they still look dirty? There are specific dirt and grease cleaners for hardscaping that can dissolve any oily residue or grease that won’t come off from regular soaps. These cleaners can often be used both on pavers that have been sealed and patio stones which have not been sealed.
Do you have questions about protecting your pavers and patio stones? Contact our experts at Grand River Natural Stone today.
3. Handle All Kinds of Patio Stains
If you want to keep your patio in as good condition as possible, you must remove stains as soon as they arrive. If you’re struggling to get a stain up with a typical cleaner, you can choose a more specific product such as:
4. Avoid Salt Through the Winter
Avoid putting ice salt on your pavers or patio stones when winter arrives if you can. Salt can wear away the sealant on your pavers, be corrosive on the stones themselves, and enable water to seep into the pavers. In addition, excessive salt use can cause discoloration, flaking and other damage.
5. Assess Sealing Needs
You don’t need to seal your patio every year, but if it needs to be resealed, it is best to do so before winter arrives.
You can get all the products you need to protect your pavers and patio stones from Grand River Natural Stone. Take a look through our selection online, or reach out to one of our experts to discuss what you might need.
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