How to Clean Flagstone Sidewalks
Flagstone is a flat stone that has been used in both interior and exterior design since the 14th century. Compositionally, flagstone is considered a type of sandstone, which means it is at least 50 percent quartz, but it also has up to 15 percent muscovite mica. Like every type of stone, flagstone has its own unique care requirements. It is not difficult to remove stains and keep flagstone clean. In fact, with a few tools and some simple guidelines, flagstone can be restored to its original glory and kept that way for years to come. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Broom with plastic bristles
- Bucket
- Hose
- Rubber gloves
- Bleach
- Muriatic acid
Instructions
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1
Fill a large bucket with 2 gallons of water. Add 1 quart of muriatic acid, which will remove stains from the flagstone.
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2
Dip your broom into the bucket with the water and muriatic acid. Spread the solution onto dry flagstone with the broom and scrub. Re-dip your broom into the cleaning solution frequently. Cover all the stones of the walkway in the solution. A push broom works well for this task.
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3
Rinse the cleaning solution from the flagstone immediately after all the stones are scrubbed. Use a hose with a sprayer attachment to get all of the solution off the walkway. Rinse the broom clean with the hose, too.
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4
Empty the bucket of cleaning solution and rinse it well. Refill the bucket with 2 gallons of water and 2 cups of bleach.
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5
Apply the bleach solution with the plastic bristle broom. Scrub the stones with the broom and bleach solution. Keep scrubbing until the flagstone is clean.
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Rinse the flagstone clean with a hose and sprayer attachment. Allow the stone to air dry.
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Tips & Warnings
After flagstone is dry, consider applying a sealer to protect it from future damage.
Wear a pair of rubber cleaning gloves to protect your skin from irritation throughout the cleaning process.
Muriatic acid strips away the top layer of your flagstone, so use it very infrequently to avoid damaging the stone.
References
- Photo Credit Seedeich image by Marem from Fotolia.com
