Summer is on the horizon, meaning more time spent in the back garden to enjoy the weather.
However, you may notice that your outdoor space has become dishevelled in the dark winter months - especially the patio. Thanks to wet weather, mould, mildew and moss can overtake the surface, making it slippery and dangerous.
While plenty of professional services offer full patio cleaning, they don't come cheap. If you don't want your guests to fall at your next BBQ, one household item can solve the issue.
The tip comes courtesy of Mrs Hinch fans who regularly share their scrubbing hacks online. Followers of the cleaning influencer Sophie Hinchcliffe say using washing powder on dirty patios can get them sparkling.
The tip comes after one social media user asked for help on a Mrs Hinch fans Facebook page. As reported by the Express, one woman asked: “What can I use to get my patio to come up cleaner and brighter when power washing?”
The post was inundated with responses from Mrs Hinch fans but the most suggested solution was to use washing powder. A fellow Mrs Hinch fan said: “My husband used boxed washing powder, wets it, leaves it overnight and then power washes it. Ours came up spotless!”
One user agreed and wrote: “I was about to say this! It also helped with the dog wee smell.” Another member suggested: “Scrub with washing powder.”
Most homes will have washing powder but those who don’t can buy it from most local supermarkets, as a pack of Just Essentials Non-Bio Washing Powder costs £3.90 from Asda. Meanwhile, Surf Laundry Powder Lavender costs £5 from Ocado and Persil Fabric Cleaning Washing Powder costs £4 from Ocado.
Other suggestions for cleaning patios included using Wet & Forget, Pink Stuff cream cleaner, bleach, chlorine, vinegar and soda crystals. One said: “Don't power wash but use Wet & Forget - spray then leave it to work.”
A second replied: “The Pink Stuff cream cleaner. Give it a scrub then wash off.” Another wrote: “I used bleach and water and it worked great. Scrubbed it and left it to dry.”
One member suggested: “Hot tub chlorine I used. Mixed it up in a car sprayer for the jet wash, sprayed it all over, left it for 10 to 20 minutes then went in and jet washed. It removed all the white blobs that only show when wet with no effort at all.”
Another person commented: “Just done mine and it’s like new. Bleach, rub it in with a broom. Pour boiling water on it and scrub again. Leave it for 20 minutes and hose off.”
One member posted: “Spray vinegar! Let it sit for an hour. Scrub it with a broom and wash it off.”
Whilst one Mrs Hinch fan said: “Soda crystals, a bottle of bleach, water in a bucket and rub it in with a brush. Don’t rinse it and let the sun dry it out. It came up like new. No hard work.”
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