Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Pressure washing the patio

When we moved into our house, I loved the front patio area. Although there wasn't much shade (the previous owners ripped out all of the trees in the front and backyard), the front patio seemed inviting. I started having visions of planting flowers around the inside of the fence, maybe having a couple of planter boxes that I could garden in, having a table with chairs to dine outside sometimes, and a swing to just relax in.
It took a some time for us to get out butts in gear and do something out there, but we finally got all the weeds pulled and laid some weed fabric down and topped it with nice dark bark. Then....more weeds came. I HATE WEEDS! The kids and I went out one day and spent hours and hours pulling weeds and planted a few flowers.
Now, this was a while ago. Some of the weeds grew back, as they do, and some of the flowers died. With our new puppy around we were going out front frequently to let him use the bathroom and I started to really notice that part of the patio had this "mossy" stuff growing on it. It kinda grossed me out.
I tried using the hose on jet spray and that didn't work. I tried spraying it with cleaning solution and brushing it with an old broom, and that worked a little, but not much. Then, it came to me! USE A PRESSURE WASHER DUMMY!
That would get it off for sure and not harm the environment. I instantly called my grandpa to see if I could borrow his (without even asking if he had one because, lets face it, its my grandpa and he has everything). My uncle and aunt were borrowing it so I called them and asked if I could borrow it from them for a couple days.
After an accident with it and a trip to Lowe's to replace a part, I got to work.
(this may seem gross, but when I realized how clean it was making the patio I HAD to take pictures)
This is part of the walkway leading up to the front door. All of this picture shows wet cement, one part is clean (the lighter part) the other part is still in need of pressure washing.
I was so excited at how well it was working I called Tim out to see and he took over some of it for me. He is standing in the place I already did. Look how nasty it is off to the right!
 Here is a before picture of one of the tiles.
 Here's when Tim was spraying it off
 and here is the same tile after! WOW!
 And here is the finished product! SO NICE! We have since gotten a patio swing (free from my grandparents) and put it over on this part of the patio. It has been so nice to sit out there and relax while Gus is doing his thing, while the kids play outside, or just to hang out.
I can't wait until I can get those planter boxes I want to get some garden stuff going and make my little front patio area just perfect for our family.


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