How to Pressure Wash Natural Stone

Natural stone is a durable and beautiful building material. It can be used for walls, patios or walkways. All natural stone requires periodic cleaning to stay looking as good as new. You can accomplish this cleaning with a moderate amount of time and effort with a pressure washer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Prepare the area to be washed. Remove any obstacles; wet and cover all surrounding vegetation; cover or disconnect any nearby electrical components and close all windows and doors. Purchase a cleaning detergent for use in pressure washers, which are available at home improvement stores.

2. Patch any cracks in the stone to prevent water from seeping behind it. Allow the patches to dry for one week before pressure washing.

3. Adjust the tip on the pressure washer nozzle to low pressure mode. Refer to the pressure washer owner's manual to find out how to adjust the pressure level. Place the detergent injection tip into the cleaning solution.

4. Depress the trigger on the pressure washer and aim it at the stone. For a stone wall, wash in sections, working from the bottom to the top.

5. Scrub any stubborn areas with a stiff bristle brush while the detergent is still wet.

6. Switch the pressure washer to high pressure mode and remove the injector from the cleaning solution. Purge any detergent from the pressure washer.

7. Rinse off the detergent residue from the stone with the pressure washer, making sure not to leave any standing suds. Start from the top and rinse down in sections if working on a wall.