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Boy, what a mess, this brick patio is covered with mildew and algae. You know from seating all winter long and perhaps you have got a concrete, maybe a flagstone or brick patio like this and spring is a great time to clean it. But what is the best way to clean a brick patio outdoors?

A lot of people think pressure washers are the thing to use. I disagree and I will tell you why. Pressure washers can erode the motor out between the brick. They can erode the cement paste of a concrete patio. They are disruptive believe it or not. I prefer to use oxygen bleach.

Now, do not confuse oxygen bleach with chlorine bleach and the reason is simple. Chlorine bleach is very toxic. It can kill much of the vegetation of the trees around your patio. Oxygen bleach on the other hand is completely safe, it is a powder that you mix with water preferably warm water. You let it dissolve for about five minutes. The trick is also to stir the oxygen bleach to make sure it dissolves. Once the oxygen bleach is dissolved, all you have to do is pour it out onto the surface and look at the bubbles work. Take a street broom or scrub brush on a pole and just scrub the stone or scrub the brick in the concrete and believe me, it will look gorgeous, the mildew, the algae will come off completely.

The final step is just to take a garden hose and rinse it off and you are ready for the season. All right, that is gorgeous. Remember, if you just let the oxygen bleach sit for about 10 minutes and then scrub it with the street broom or scrub brush on a pole, you will get this kind of results.

I am Tim Carter for Ask the Builder. If you want to discover more home improvement tips go to AskTheBuilder.com.

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