Weeds have a way of growing in places they shouldn't and one of their favourite spots to grow is between paving slabs. These little gaps create micro-climates where weeds can germinate and flourish! Removing weeds from a patio or driveway using a pressure washer might seem like a good idea, afterall, if you're cleaning the slabs anyway, why not use the powerful jets to eliminate the unwanted weeds? Well, there are a few problems that can occur when you try to remove weeds with a pressure washer and we're going to talk you through them today...
Deep root systems
When you spend time getting rid of weeds from your patio or driveway, you want to be confident that they aren't coming back. Weed removal can become very laborious when you find yourself doing it every few months, just to keep the place looking tidy! One of the main problems with using a pressure washer to remove weeds is that most weeds have tough & widespread roots that travel deep underground.
Of course, with your patio slabs on top, you won't be able to see or access these roots easily, so while your pressure washer may remove the exposed weed on the surface, there's no guarantee that the whole root system has been destroyed. 9 times out of 10, weeds that have been removed with a pressure washer come back with a vengeance, so if you want a more permenant solution, we'd recommend looking into a professional weed removal service.
The specialist herbicides that we use are designed to kill the entire plant and its roots, this means the likelihood of the weeds appearing on your driveway again are greatly reduced! Once the plants have died, you can easily remove them by hand without worrying about them coming back in a few months time.
Damaged mortar
Another reason why we don't recommend removing weeds with a pressure washer, is because it can damage the fixing agent that holds your patio slabs down. As the pressure washer forces the weed out of the cracks between your tiles, it can lift the mortar or cement that it's grown through. Over time, you'll find that your slabs become loose and may even start to lift. This can cost a lot of money to repair, so treating the weeds properly is preferable.
If you do want to use a pressure washer to remove the dirt from between your tiles, we'd highly recommend having the weeds treated with specialist herbicides first. Once they've died & been removed by hand, you can use your pressure washer to clean the surface of the tiles & the grouting between the tiles. You'll usually find that cleaning your patio or driveway with a pressure washer after the weeds have been removed gives you a better clean and causes less damage.
Here at Lawn and Weed Expert, we offer a specialist weed treatment that will eradicate weeds far more effectively than a pressure washer! Give us a call on 0800 111 4958 or click the button below to find out more.
Weed Removal Service >
