As those fall colors in the trees begin to flutter to the ground, try to remember to regularly blow or sweep the surfaces of your driveway, patio and walkways. While autumn leaves can be quite beautiful, cool nights and warm days will cause condensation which, when mixed with leaves, can stain your concrete pavers. In addition to leaves, certain trees, like the glorious maple, have whets called samaras (aka ‘helicopters’) which can be very abundant, particularly after higher stressed seasons. In order to promote seed growth, Mother Nature designs samaras to dissolve with only small amounts of moisture; the downside is that they can stain even more easily than a leaf.
Besides sweeping the surfaces of this debris, sealing paver surfaces can also help stains from penetrating too deep into the surface of the stone, making them easier to clean. If you have not already sealed your paver project and live in an area with an abundance of leaves, you may choose to consider sealing.
As patio season winds down you should also consider removing any furniture, planter urns or barbeques from your patio. While some of these items may be marked as rustproof or ‘exterior grade’, it only takes one screw, bolt or nut that wasn’t rust proofed to cause an unsightly stain when subjected to the rigours of winter weather. If you do find a rust stain on your pavers, it will be a little harder to clean off but not impossible if you use a rust remover specially designed for pavers.
A well installed paver driveway, walkway or patio is designed to stand the test of time. With just a little proactive maintenance these paver surfaces will continue to look great for many years to come.
