What’s the best way to clean an Indian sandstone patio?

Well, we are fortunate! Very recently, our stone floor specialist, Brandon Walton, has not long got one of our fabulous customer’s stunning Indian sandstone patios ready for the winter. Brandon’s before and after pictures speak for themselves, but you will see them in this blog. 

Your time is precious, and I understand you may want to only learn the best way to clean an Indian sandstone patio and how to do it yourself. Following our patio cleaning process should help. You will have to substitute our equipment and products, but to see our process, head to the section headed ‘Our Process. If you want to see a recently completed job and how stunning your patio will look after a freshen-up, head to the section ‘Here’s one we did earlier.

A little taster of how beautiful its looks:

If you love reading and you visit my blogs often, then thank you and keep reading, let’s see how much we can learn. That’s the best part of this job for me. I get to know others while I teach others. After a lot of research and asking my excellent colleagues, I found that the best way to clean your sandstone patio is to keep an eye out for certain marks, and as soon as you see them, the best thing to do is clean them straight away. Always check you have the correct solution. Washing it the wrong way could do more harm than good. 

Our cleaning process:

In this section, I will write our process, but there will also be a video so you can see our process. Sometimes a visual is better, so for those who like to see it, check out the end of this section.

We have two processes that we do:

• Clean, sand and seal.
• Clean, point and seal.

The process we use for an Indian sandstone is our Clean, point and seal:

I will give you both scenarios, yours and ours. It was easier for me to compare this way. 

Step 1 :

Professional: To clean, point and seal is a thorough wash down with our top-of-the-range petrol run jet wash. It can get pressure up to 1000 psi. 

You: Substitute your cleaning machine with your typical home brought ones which run at around 350-400 psi. 

Step 2:

Professional: Everywhere then gets washed with either a turbo lance or a spinner which covers a larger area. 

You: You will add your cleaning solution to your pressure washer and maybe use a brush to scrub manually. 

Step 3:

Professional: The solution we use is Eco-Friendly, so specially formulated to be kind to our wildlife but cleans the patio better than your general shop-bought ones. 

You: You will have the general one they sell in your local supermarket, be careful you don’t get one that’s too acidic as it can damage the slab and surroundings.

Step 4:

Professional: Black spots and stubborn stains (usually caused by fungus or algae). Sometimes jet washing alone won’t remove this, so we need to use sodium hypochlorite, which breaks down the fungi and bacteria which need each other to grow and survive. They then rinse down again, and the process repeats if necessary. This product can be left for as long as necessary but shouldn’t need more than an hour. A little dicky bird told me it also works better on hot, sunny days.

You: You will probably use a bleach-type solution but don’t forget to dilute, or you could damage the slabs and surroundings. Also, not so great for our wildlife. 

Step 5:

Professional: They then add the easy joint to freshen up the beautiful joints that set the look for your beautiful Indian sandstone patio. It’s brushed onto all joints and smoothed over with a pointing tool to give it that elegant smooth finish. It’s then finished with a sealant to help maintain its cleanliness. 

You: You can buy Easy Joint and do it yourself. Click here to view this product. You would have more extra costs and another trip to find all the correct tools. Read the instructions thoroughly, and you should be fine. Then, apply the sealant evenly to ensure the final finish lasts longer.

A video of our clean:

Here’s one we did earlier:

You can’t deny the end product is beautiful. I mean, it was made possible as our customer’s patio is absolutely stunning, and the beautiful surroundings made cleaning this extremely satisfying. But Brandon and the team are fully trained and ready to put you and your external investments first, from start to finish. 

Before                                                After

5 Tips to try and maintain over the winter once you have your patio clean:

1. Regular brushing to remove debris.
2. Scrape weeds regularly.
3. Replace jointing sand to prevent weed growth.
4. Use acid-free soupy water to clean between big clean and certain areas needing it.
5. Use stiff brushes to scrub the surface if required.

Would like to know more about easy Joint and what colour we use, then check out this blog:

What colour sand do you use for patio joints?

To find your local patio and driveway cleaners, check this out:

Patio and Driveway Cleaning Services in Cambridgeshire?

Maybe you would like to see some reviews:

Reviews about patio and driveway cleaning.

And last but not least, just because I like to help if you would like to see the cost of a professional clean, then this is perfect for you:

How much does it cost to clean your patio or driveway?

So that’s everything; I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you, and have a fantastic day.