After a long, wet winter, my patio was looking a tad worse for wear. The slabs had been dulled by months of grime, and dark patches of algae had crept in, and the whole area just felt pretty tired and not at all like the outdoor entertaining space we painstakingly planned when doing our reno.
It’s particularly noticeable because this is actually our new patio made from limestone, which we had sealed when it was installed. The stone is a lovely chalky white colour, which I love, but that also means every bit of grime shows up quickly. So we picked up Jeyes 4-in-1 patio and decking cleaner, RRP £16, at Amazon, which is one of the best patio cleaners in our guide, to see how it would fare cleaning limestone slabs and bricks.
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Jeyes
4-In-1 Patio and Decking Cleaner
What appealed to me most about this cleaner is that it’s designed to cut through stains on both a patio and a deck without needing hours of heavy scrubbing. It’s actually suitable for a range of surfaces, including stone, concrete and paving slabs, so I could tackle a load of different areas at once.
I also love that it can be used with a pressure washer, so there’s no heavy lifting required. I used the EGO Power+ cordless pressure washer, available at Just Lawnmowers, which made getting around with it less faffy.
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Before getting started, I diluted the cleaner with water following the instructions on the bottle and used the soap bottle attachment on my pressure washer to apply it over all the affected areas, which made the whole job surprisingly easy.
After coating the patio and deck with the formula, I left it to sit for about 30 minutes or so, so it could properly break down all that dirt and gunge.
Then I switched my pressure washer to the high-pressure setting and blasted everything clean. Now, if you want to clean your patio without a pressure washer or don’t have one, you could even use a good garden hose for this step. Watching it all lift away from the pale surface was incredibly satisfying!
More tried-and-tested patio cleaners we love
Algon Organic Path, Patio & Deck Cleaner
This patio cleaner is not only non-toxic and safe around pets, children, and wildlife, but it also requires zero scrubbing or rinsing and can be used on virtually all outdoor surfaces.
Smart Seal Xtreme Patio Cleaner
It may be on the expensive side and needs rinsing after application, but this patio cleaner gets super fast and effective results, with no scrubbing required.
Wet and Forget Rapid Patio Cleaner
This ready-to-go formula features an 8m spray for hard-to-reach places, has great coverage, and needs no scrubbing or rinsing.
Once the patio had dried, the difference was really obvious. The whole space felt brighter and cleaner, and the dull tinge that had built up during those months of wet weather had lifted. Even the joints between the paving looked fresher.
It’s one of those maintenance jobs I always dread doing, but once it’s done, it makes a surprising difference to how my whole garden feels, and this formula made it super simple to get done quickly and effectively.
Now, I must admit, it didn’t work total miracles as it couldn’t remove more stubborn black spots on my patio, but I think they would need a more targeted approach anyway.
The top-rated pressure washers to use with it
Karcher K4 Full Control Home Pressure Washer
Our best pressure washer overall comes with a detergent and a car kit included. It’s super easy to use, and the pressure settings mean it gets excellent results.
Nilfisk Excellent 160-10 PA Pressure Washer
Nilfisk’s Excellent pressure washer is well, excellent. It features a 10m Ultraflex hose for big jobs, a multipurpose gun and lance and is extremely powerful.
Worx 20V Hydroshot Cordless Pressure washer
With no outdoor plug or tap needed, Worx’s unbelievably lightweight pressure washer is easy to use for lighter jobs. It’s not as powerful as others in our guide for larger areas, but it can still effectively remove grime.
After trying out Jeyes 4-in-1 Patio and Decking Cleaner, I can safely say it’s made a noticeable difference to my patio, especially since it was so dirty!
Combined with a quick blast from the pressure washer (which it really needed to remove all the filth), it brought the pale limestone slabs back to life in no time. Now the patio finally looks like the bright, welcoming space it was last year, ready for lots of summer entertaining.
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