Cleaning Concrete Patios

Patios are often an essential part of a home. An example of this is how over the past few years a trend has been forming where the inside is coming to the outside. Some examples of this are outdoor kitchens, living rooms, and dining rooms. However, as you can probably tell, there is a slight problem with these rooms—they are all outdoors. Unlike those rooms inside, you can't exactly vacuum the floors when they get dirty. Instead, follow these simple steps to clean your concrete patio.

Materials:

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

Procedure:

1. Gather 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 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 the concrete and apply the 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. 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. 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 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.