Hello everyone, I have a question that seems easy to answer but actually isn’t that simple. Last year we paved everything and then brushed yellow sand into the joints for compaction. We had the sand left over from the house construction. Now the stones look like they were freshly blasted from a quarry. I have cleaned them once with a pressure washer and swept them ten times. No change. Even using the full jet on the pressure washer doesn’t completely clean the stones. Scrubbing doesn’t make much of a difference either. Even a surface cleaner attachment on the pressure washer doesn’t help. The stones no longer look like the original ones; they are much lighter and just dirty.
What do you recommend to remove the sand but without damaging the stone too much?
I keep thinking about a cement film remover, but isn’t that quite aggressive?
What do you recommend to remove the sand but without damaging the stone too much?
I keep thinking about a cement film remover, but isn’t that quite aggressive?
I understand your problem.
I clean my terrace with soft soap and a scrub brush; usually, everything comes off, and my upper arms get a workout too. Whether that helps in your case, I’m not sure.
Pressure washers often aren’t good because they roughen the surface.
With the transition from street to paving, you also lift dirt up every time.
Ask the manufacturer what products you can use.
I clean my terrace with soft soap and a scrub brush; usually, everything comes off, and my upper arms get a workout too. Whether that helps in your case, I’m not sure.
Pressure washers often aren’t good because they roughen the surface.
With the transition from street to paving, you also lift dirt up every time.
Ask the manufacturer what products you can use.
I
Isokrates29 Mar 2021 10:26Tx-25 schrieb:
except as it was delivered and was on the pallets).The supplier seems to have delivered the correct stones at first glance, but unfortunately, it is no longer possible to verify whether the quality was also correct.
It is normal for concrete pavers to continue curing, and for them to look unattractive at first, especially with darker paver colors.
With sandblasted pavers only, it is also unfortunately normal that dirt can settle into the pores.
As has already been pointed out several times here, you have unfortunately made this much worse by using a pressure washer.
You have pushed the sand deeper into the pores and increased the surface area of the concrete.
This has also removed the supplier’s chance for a remedy.
I don’t know how to properly clean this now without using chemical agents, and then not have it get even dirtier afterward.
I’m not sure if the supplier is the same, but the stones from all the neighbors come from a factory nearby.
I tested the pressure washer on 5 to 10 stones and quickly realized it doesn’t help.
So across the entire yard, I only used a spray nozzle. Even the joints remained intact.
So nothing should have been affected yet.
Scrubbing doesn’t make a difference. I would have to scrub so intensively that one stone would take 5 minutes.
I do wonder myself if I’m crazy for asking how to remove sand from stones.
But somehow it really turns out to be quite difficult.
I tested the pressure washer on 5 to 10 stones and quickly realized it doesn’t help.
So across the entire yard, I only used a spray nozzle. Even the joints remained intact.
So nothing should have been affected yet.
Scrubbing doesn’t make a difference. I would have to scrub so intensively that one stone would take 5 minutes.
I do wonder myself if I’m crazy for asking how to remove sand from stones.
But somehow it really turns out to be quite difficult.
Our landscaping contractor had talked to us about this beforehand: integral colored concrete tends to look dirty and grimy over time, no matter how attractive the catalog photos are. Natural stones maintain their appearance for years and stay looking good, except for the pure white ones, which contain lime/chalk and can turn green due to moss and algae.
H
hampshire29 Mar 2021 11:12Tx-25 schrieb:
We paved 200 sqm (2,150 sq ft), which was quite expensive, and now the stones really look like they were just blasted straight from the quarry.
That’s really frustrating for me, especially so soon after the new build.
And yes, I know it sounds a bit picky to say this, but this type of stone has been laid all around our neighborhood and everywhere else it looks the way it’s supposed to. It definitely cost a lot of money, but it’s not necessarily an expensive solution.
Yes, the stones look uneven.
It’s understandable that this bothers you and it doesn’t make you picky—at least not in my opinion.
What’s different with the neighbors can probably be found out; something must be different, possibly the stone itself (as you suspected), the initial treatment, or…
haydee schrieb:
Pressure washers often aren’t good because they roughen the surface. Pressure washers do speed up the dirt buildup afterwards. I would definitely avoid using one.
Since it’s unlikely you’ll get the paving replaced by the installer, a professional who cleans gently and seals afterward can help. For example, there are several well-known franchise companies online that specialize in solving issues with patchy paving.
Tip: If such a specialist wants to demonstrate their work on your paving, give them a less visible stone to test on. Otherwise, you’ll almost certainly accept the job because a perfectly clean stone standing out among all the dirty ones in a prominent spot will only increase your frustration. Also, be prepared for some flexibility in pricing given the size of your area.
If you used "yellow" sand there, that problem is simply over. That stuff stains badly and can’t be removed. Too much clay content. Water washes it out, and the mixture sets permanently. Concrete is porous and open, so it will have absorbed it. Nothing can be done anymore!
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