How to clean garden areas and paths?

Send

One of the most “reliable” garden objects, which, it would seem, practically do not need attention, are paths and paved areas. But no matter what material they are made of, however much they differ in the technology of arrangement, care for them is required no less than for garden plants. The accumulation of dirt, mosses, lichens, grasses, snow can destroy even the most reliable coating. The secret to preserving paths and garden areas for decades is in proper cleaning and timely cleaning. And it is not always as simple as it seems.

Content:

Different tracks do not always need different cleaning
From sweeping to spring cleaning - simple cleaning measures
Rules for serious cleaning of tracks and pads
Winter troubles on the tracks

Different tracks do not always need different cleaning

Paving materials and the type of track or site will directly determine the care they need. Soft paths or recreation areas covered with crushed bark need a gentle approach, they are short-lived and should be repaired or reconstructed more correctly, the coating should be replaced, and not literally cleaned.

Dry masonry made of stone, concrete, tile requires one approach, wooden platforms - another, as well as coatings made of any materials laid on a concrete base. But something in common with these types of tracks and pads still has: timely cleaning is the best guarantee that you do not need serious work. Sweeping fallen leaves or debris is much easier than manually scraping off stains or removing part of the tiles.

Without exception, all the trails and grounds in the garden need:

Measures for regular cleaning, or keeping tracks clean.
Wet cleaning, or washing them.
Seasonal spring cleaning.
Cleaning from stains, heavy pollution and vegetation.
Seasonal measures - snow and glaciation cleaning.

From sweeping to spring cleaning - simple cleaning measures

Regular cleaning - procedures that need to be performed systemically as the coatings become dirty, getting rid of debris and dirt and preventing them from accumulating. Systemic care can prevent not only the appearance of serious contaminants, but also the destruction of the materials themselves. Cleaning is carried out throughout the year, especially often in the active season. It is similar to the same procedures that flooring in a house needs, only more time-consuming.

Usually this cleaning includes:

sweeping paved walkways or using garden vacuums;
manual collection of large garbage;
weed harvesting;
trimming the edges of lawn or adjacent to the lawns soft paths;
leveling and moistening of bulk materials;
pouring mulch or sand into the gap between the tiles;
washing the coating with a jet from a hose or special mini-sinks for hard paths and watering for crushed stone, gravel, other soft paths and platforms (except for wooden decks).

Intermediate seasons always come to the peak of regular cleaning - in the spring (after winter, the amount of accumulated dirt makes you pay special attention to the tracks) and in the fall, when leaf fall is a bother.

Any cleaning of paved areas and paths should not be limited only by sweeping or washing the coating itself. The removal of contaminants from the gaps between the plates should also be regular.

Due to favorable conditions for the development of moss and grass where cultivated plants have not been planted and no measures have been taken to lay non-woven materials to prevent weed growth, joints need to be cleaned regularly. Such removal is carried out either with a spatula or with a special tool (resembles a narrow brush with a metal bristle). Often such cleaning is combined with subsequent treatment with herbicides.

Rules for serious cleaning of tracks and pads

There can be a lot of reasons why tracks are not easy enough to sweep. Construction or repair work, carelessness, neglect, operation of a car and motor equipment, poor drying in the shade, etc. can lead to the fact that to cope with pollution simply washing does not work. And in order to clean the tracks from serious stains and deposits, you must first focus on the materials and type of coating.

On gravel paths, as well as paths covered with bark or other mulch belonging to bulk materials, surface, contaminated layers of the coating are removed (completely or only in those areas where they were seriously damaged).

In case of serious pollution, accumulation of mosses, dampness, ingress of mortars or chemicals, the coating can be removed from the sand from the base. Deleted materials are partially or completely replaced with new ones. Dirt paths or newfangled paths made of colored sand and fine-grained decorative coatings are also not cleaned, but restored, removing part of the coating and replacing it with a new one.

Lawn paths are usually cleaned by cutting damaged turf and laying a new one.

On wooden floors, platforms and terraces, work requires accuracy. There is a whole range of special tools for treating wood and cleaning it from pollution. They are selected in accordance with what varnish, antiseptic or impregnation the tree was processed. Typically, manufacturers themselves produce several options for special products for regular care and removal of serious contaminants. In extreme cases, the damaged areas or the entire site as a whole are polished, and then they are covered with new protective compounds.

The cleaning of hard coatings - concrete, artificial stone, natural stone, mosaics, combined coatings - from serious contamination takes place according to completely different principles. And the options here are determined by the area of work, and the available means, and the type of pollution.

The basic cleaning options include:

The manual method is manual cleaning using mild eco-friendly detergents and a brush. You can use hard brushes and even metal brushes (if the coating allows), apply liquid soap, phosphate-free washing powders, special cleaning agents for stone or concrete. This method is convenient if the scope of work is small, we are not talking about very strong pollution.
The use of high pressure washers. They help to cope even with moss, limescale, stained spots in very large areas, and effectively cope with garbage in joints and indentations (increasing, however, the risk of washing out sand from seams).
The use of special whitening and cleaning compounds for a particular type of stone or concrete (after other methods do not help). For a specific type of coating (pavers, paving slabs, stone), agents are selected that, in addition to the basic function, also restore color, destroy vegetation, emphasize the surface structure. When using special medications, first try them in a small, less visible area to evaluate the impact.

Specific types of pollution require the same special measures:

stubborn or stuck plant debris, traces of rot are washed off with a brush and soapy water with a thorough washing of the product from the surface after the procedure;
efflorescences (white salt deposits) require the use of special cleaners;
mosses and lichens are removed with a brush or sink; herbicides or special formulations are used to prevent mosses to prevent these problems;
they struggle with mold with chlorine preparations or bleaches;
stains from fuel, oil, other fatty compounds and agents are removed using absorbents and hot soapy water or special solvents;
traces of rust are removed with acid-containing agents;
cement stains or traces of putty and other mortar are removed mechanically, scraping or scraping them from the coating;
soot, traces of tires or rubber linings for furniture are washed off with hot water and simple soap;
paint stains are removed mechanically or with a solvent suitable for the type of paint;
traces of food are removed by scraping.

Winter troubles on the tracks

Snow accumulating in the winter on garden trails and even the terrace should be regularly removed. And it should be cleaned of it, without exception, the trails and grounds in the garden (regardless of whether you use them or not). This can be done both manually and with the help of special snowblowers. Moreover, the white blanket of snow can be successfully used to shelter garden plants.

Snow removal should be carried out quickly, since caking, and even more so icing, threatens much greater inconvenience. And to deal with this problem will not be so simple.

When icing tracks in the garden, the use of anti-slip materials requires a more balanced approach than in any other areas. After all, any chemicals and salts will inevitably fall into the adjacent territories and pollute the soil.

The use of drugs must be carefully weighed, measures must be taken to protect the soil from their residues, remove snow and waste from the territory, and avoid disturbing the ecological balance. Chipping ice in the garden by hand is unacceptable: regardless of the coating, it will damage it. The only completely safe way is to install heating under the tracks.