Cleaning Your Concrete Patio

Patios are becoming more and more an essential part of any home or landscape design, and can dramatically affect how both are perceived. Considering how one of the most popular choices in making one of these items is concrete, it only makes sense to learn how you should clean it. By properly cleaning your concrete patio you will be able to more easily project the look that you want, while maintaining and preserving the material for years to come. While it may take a little bit of work and elbow grease, cleaning your concrete patio doesn't need to be particularly difficult.

Materials:

• Deck broom
• Regular broom
• Concrete cleaner
• Garden hose
• Scrub brush
• Extension pole
• Power washer

Procedure:

1. Gather your materials. As with any cleaning project, the very first step is to gather all the materials you need. Most, if not all, of these items can be found around the home, and those that you can't find around the home can be purchased or rented at any local home improvement store.
2. Sweep off the patio. Start by sweeping the patio with the deck broom. This will enable you to remove the vast majority of the dirt and grime that is on the patio. For smaller pieces, and the finer dust, simply use a smaller broom and dust pan.
3. Wet down the concrete and apply your cleaner. Before you can apply any cleanser to concrete, you need to get the concrete nice and wet. This allows a better application of the concrete cleaner. For standard cleaning, use regular liquid dishwashing soap. After wetting the concrete, spread the liquid dishwashing soap around. For a more in-depth cleaning, use specially formulated concrete cleaners. If you are using the special cleaner, simply follow the directions on the package.
4. Scrub hard. After you apply the cleaner it's time to scrub. You can use either a scrub brush or a large deck broom. Work the cleaner into the stained area using as much pressure as you can. Start from the inside of the patio, working your way towards the outside edge. This helps limit the cross-contamination of spreading the dirt into the clean areas.
5. Rinse it all off. Use your pressure cleaner (power washer) to rinse the cleaner off. As you rinse the cleaner off, you will be able to see if there are any stains left. If there are, repeat steps three and four as necessary until the stains have been removed.
6. 6 Allow everything to dry. Once your patio is clean, allow it to air dry. If you are doing your patio cleaning on a nice sunny day, this shouldn't take very long.