August 18th, 2020 by Amy Varley

Our garden patios are a great space for entertaining, enjoying the warm weather and summer evenings – so keeping them clean and looking their best is a must! Our British weather does nothing to help with keeping it clean, especially with our winters causing grime and dirt to build up – and if you’ve ever been a victim of black spot then you will know how difficult it can be to remove. Here we explain what black spot is – and the easiest and most efficient way to remove it.

How do black spots form?

Black spot is the name given to the black (or sometimes white in appearance) round marks that appear on your patio which are seemingly very difficult to remove. The spots are caused by lichen that travels in the breeze into your garden and settles on your patio. Once they have settled, they then mature, sending tiny tendrils down into the pores of your patio stone seeking the natural minerals that are found in the stone. These tendrils gradually spread throughout the whole stone which is why black spot multiplies and gets worse over time.

Why is it so hard to remove?

Black spot is so difficult to remove because it isn’t simply a surface problem. Cleaning our patios generally involves pressure washing – which does a brilliant job at removing any grime or dirt that has built upon the stone’s surface. Because black spot affects the pores in the stone this means pressure washing can’t get to the root of the problem, so to speak! During the first couple of years of a new patio, black spot may appear to be a surface problem – and the surface may be cleaned using a pressure washer, however, this doesn’t kill any tendrils that are within the stone – meaning it will just keep coming back.

How can I remove them?

Possibly the most effective way of removing black spot from your patio is to use a specific black spot remover product – that targets the black spots and breaks them down, killing the lichen and preventing new growth. These products often have a bleaching agent which helps to lessen the visible blackness of the spots. Once you have used one of these products on your patio, it will kill the black spot spores, and any dead deposits will loosen so will be easily washed away next time the patio is pressure washed – leaving it looking brand new.

Our Ultima-Plus XP Black Spot Remover is an excellent product for removing the unsightly black spots on your patio – in a matter of hours! The formula starts to work straight away by breaking down the tough black spots – plus there is no mixing required. Simply use the product neat in either a pump sprayer or watering can and cover the entire area of your patio. You should leave it to work for a minimum of two hours (but we recommend that you leave it overnight if possible) and then simply rinse the area clean with a hose – it really is as simple as that – and you should have a sparkling patio that looks as good as it did when it was first laid!

Ultima Plus XP Black Spot Remover and Patio Cleaner 5L

Price: £29.95

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