Patio Black Spot Remover

what you pay for. The Domestos that I used cost a fair bit more than the n o-name, 15p-a-litre stuff, but it shifted the spots within 30 mins and they 've stayed shifted all summer. I'm guessing the cheap stuff is chemically t he same as Domestos, just much more dilute.

Thick bleach is thin plus liquid soap, its not less dilute. If there's one thing I've learnt about retail supermarket products, its that you don't get what you pay for. The correlation between quality and price is weak.

Parrotzone thick bleach is £1 for 2 litres at poundland.

NT

Hi Martin, just interested to see one year on if the Bleach is still holding up. Tried it tonight and was astonished how quickly the lichens disappeared after spending literally hundreds on 'other' solutions.

I've just used this stuff

path=60&product_id=54

gal growth from Indian sandstone paving. I've got some in my back garden, a nd the black spots have started to appear. They do disfigure the look of th e stone, and they multiply each year. I've tried high-powered pressure wash ing and ordinary moss-and-mould-killing type of stuff - nothing will shift the black spots, and this is the general experience reported by others from a bit of internet research. Indian sandstone is particularly prone to it f or some reason.

all give it five out of five - well there's a surprise! It costs roughly th e same as malt whisky, which is fairly horrendous for a cleaning product. I f it works it will be worthwhile, because the alternative will be relaying the patio with something less prone to black spots.

cellent buying more to do the whole patio!! Will put before and after shots online after. I was sceptical to start with and only bought 2 litres now d ead chuffed and getting another 4!!

why would a diyer spend ££ and wait for days when they can just use ble ach? It doesn't make sense. It can't be spam, surely.

NT

I reached the same conclusion as you when cleaning some bathroom tiles sometime back.

path=60&product_id=54

gal growth from Indian sandstone paving. I've got some in my back garden, a nd the black spots have started to appear. They do disfigure the look of th e stone, and they multiply each year. I've tried high-powered pressure wash ing and ordinary moss-and-mould-killing type of stuff - nothing will shift the black spots, and this is the general experience reported by others from a bit of internet research. Indian sandstone is particularly prone to it f or some reason.

all give it five out of five - well there's a surprise! It costs roughly th e same as malt whisky, which is fairly horrendous for a cleaning product. I f it works it will be worthwhile, because the alternative will be relaying the patio with something less prone to black spots.

Don't bother with the so called Black spot remover, it's silly money and no more effective. First try bleach (cheap stuff is as good as any). Jet wash the surface off to remove debris then apply 1 to 1 mix of water and bleach with a watering can (one you won't need again for plants). Leave it on for half an hour, don't let it dry, then wash off with jet wash again. That wo rks for most people. If that doesn't work try chlorine (granules dissolved in warmish water) from your local swimming pool shop. Use the same method a s above using bleach.

ing up. Tried it tonight and was astonished how quickly the lichens disappe ared after spending literally hundreds on 'other' solutions.

My original treatment from the beginning of this thread (exactly two years ago) has held out fine. By way of reminder, I'd used thick domestos neat, w hich cleared a burgeoning black spot problem. Total cost less than twenty q uid, versus several hundred for bottles of what I suspect is bleach with a fancy name from the official black spot people.

The full thread is here:

(PS Call me hardened old cynic, but do you think Guy Press could be ever so slightly related to the black spot people??)

lding up. Tried it tonight and was astonished how quickly the lichens disap peared after spending literally hundreds on 'other' solutions.

s ago) has held out fine. By way of reminder, I'd used thick domestos neat, which cleared a burgeoning black spot problem. Total cost less than twenty quid, versus several hundred for bottles of what I suspect is bleach with a fancy name from the official black spot people.

so slightly related to the black spot people??)

Hi Martin,

Have just read your post as we, too, have a growing problem of black spots due to lichen on our relatively new Indian sandstone patio and paths. Cou ld you please tell me how you applied the Domestos - did you have to scrub each stone and then rinse it off? Problem for us is that we have a vast am ount of the stone and the thought of scrubbing individual stones is more th an a bit daunting!

Carole Samuels Many thanks

Hi Carole,

I put the domestos on neat, and lightly scrubbed it around a bit with a yar d broom. I certainly wasn't on my hands and knees with a scrubbing brush. I left it on for a good few hours, hosed the patio down gently, and then pre ssure-washed it the same as I do every spring. The bleaching was very easy, much less time consuming than the subsequent pressure-washing. Less than a n hour I reckon. I think it was the chemical effects of the bleach which ki lled off the lichen, rather than any elbow grease from me.

My patio is relatively small, maybe 20sqm. It's a couple of years ago now, but as I recall I used around three or four large bottles of domestos. The black spots have not yet returned, but when they do I shall not hesitate to do it again.

For those reading on Usenet, the original thread is archived at

Cheers!

Martin

Hi Martin Can you let me know what mix of domestic bleach to water you used? Thanks for sharing your experiences. Just what we need. Andy

Hi Andy,

I used neat domestos. There is more information if you read back up the thread.

ard broom. I certainly wasn't on my hands and knees with a scrubbing brush. I left it on for a good few hours, hosed the patio down gently, and then p ressure-washed it the same as I do every spring. The bleaching was very eas y, much less time consuming than the subsequent pressure-washing. Less than an hour I reckon. I think it was the chemical effects of the bleach which killed off the lichen, rather than any elbow grease from me.

, but as I recall I used around three or four large bottles of domestos. Th e black spots have not yet returned, but when they do I shall not hesitate to do it again.

Thank you very much, Martin, we'll give it a try.

yard broom. I certainly wasn't on my hands and knees with a scrubbing brus h. I left it on for a good few hours, hosed the patio down gently, and then pressure-washed it the same as I do every spring. The bleaching was very e asy, much less time consuming than the subsequent pressure-washing. Less th an an hour I reckon. I think it was the chemical effects of the bleach whic h killed off the lichen, rather than any elbow grease from me.

ow, but as I recall I used around three or four large bottles of domestos. The black spots have not yet returned, but when they do I shall not hesitat e to do it again.

Hi Martin,

Have just tried some ordinary thick household bleach which we diluted so th at it could be used in a sprayer. A miracle has been achieved - it looks l ike our previously ruined paving now looks as it did when new! Thank you so much! Carole

What proportions did you use?

Excellent - very glad to hear it worked for you.

Hehe. Oh you wicked man!

replying to Martin Pentreath, Peter wrote: I have recently purchased a 4 litre drum of black spot remover for my natural sandstone patio from The Patio Black Spot Removal Company Ltd ( yes, it is really called that!) and it works brilliantly, I was pleasantly surprised as I had tried many other products that have not worked. It is expensive at £65 for

I just did the arithmetic. £65 for 4 litres. More expensive than malt whisky you say? Do you find that £16 per litre buys you good whisky? W here do you get such cheap whisky and is it any good?

Thanks for this. The cheaper bleach option worked for me.