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Green pebbles

So during the summer, I dug up the stupid tiny front lawn, laid membrane and covered it with a variety of pebbles. Planted alliums, lavender, thyme etc

garden doesn't get a lot of sun, but some,early morning

looked amazing all Summer, but now, the pebbles are getting green and mildewy

canr pressure wash, it would damage the membrane abe, but ???

Posts

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016

    It's algae and moss.  If you have laid a decent membrane it shouldn't be damaged by a pressure washer.  The bigger problem is going to be splashback from the pebbles and the possibility of pebbles being dislodged.  Just be careful about the amount of pressure used.

  • PalaisglidePalaisglide Posts: 3,414

    Anne, have you spray? Any normal household cleaner bottle well washed then fill with a mix of washing up liquid and water. Spray the pebbles leave a while then an ordinary hose will wash them with the help of a stiffish brush. Raking them over with a garden rake now and then also helps, you say it is a small area so it would take minutes. Using a pressure washer could turn the pebbles into shrapnel, not a good idea, you do not want to break windows or wipe out your neighbours do you. Good luck.

    Frank

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053

    Something like patio magic may work. You just water it on.

    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • Anne17Anne17 Posts: 98

    Thanks everyone, food for thought !

  • Hi Anne17,if the washing up liquid don't work you could always try Wickes fungicidal wash cleaner £7.99 I use it on my fence and the side of the house (brick work). I have two great big sycamore trees hanging over half my garden and they always causes algae

    . You can use the wash for a number of things. Its great stuff . image

  • Anne17Anne17 Posts: 98

    Will these approaches damage any of the plants I have growing there. I'm worried that they would leak into the soil below the membrane and kill,the plants

  • Hi Anne17, The answer to that is yes if your not careful. If your worried about the plants, you could pour the wash into a bucket and submerge the pebbles into it, that way you know that the pebbles are fully coated with the wash. Then put the pebbles into another bucket and wait 48 hours for the fungicidal wash to work. After that you can submerge them back into a bucket of soapy water, then hose them to get rid of the fungal wash. That way you know there's no fungal wash left on to penetrate through the membrane  into the soil when it rains. Bare in mind that  the label its say "prevents algae up to 6 months", so if you do wash it off, it may not be as effective for up to the 6 months. I don't know how big of a area you have, so good luck with which ever method you choose.

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