Driveways are the entrance to your house, and a well-maintained one will reflect how well kept your home is. With an earthy look, bricks give your driveway an old-world appeal, but it is essential to maintain them not only for the beauty of it but to make them last longer. Therefore, it is crucial for you to know how to maintain brick driveways.
To prevent damage to your brick driveway requires regular cleaning, sealing, sanding, and controlling weed growth. Here is all you need to know about brick paver driveway maintenance.
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Keep the Brick Driveway Clean
This is the first step to maintaining the brick driveway, as it is for every other type of pavers. Sweep it regularly to remove any dirt, dried leaves, and branches. Accumulation of dirt will affect the life of the pavers and make cleaning more challenging. It would be best if you did this, especially in the rainy season or during the snow. The water will make the fallen leaves and dirt into mulch, and cleaning will be more difficult.Moreover, driveways will always see vehicular movement, which means there is a high possibility of an oil spill, which will leave marks on the pavers and gradually make the color fade away. In case you have any such spills, you must clean them immediately. If you are wondering how to get oil off a brick driveway, it’s quite simple! Use mild detergent and scrub it clean with water. However, you should remember not to use wire scrubs to clean the surface as it will leave scratches and eventually damage the driveway pavers.
You should look at getting the brick driveway power washed every once in a while. It will bring back the original look of the pavers and clean the surface thoroughly for better results. Look for a reliable paver company for this task.
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Remove weeds from the driveway
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Bricks are prone to weed and moss, which can cause permanent damage to your brick driveway. So, if you spot any, remove it immediately. Weeds can creep in the small space between two bricks, and then they begin to grow and crack the pavers. So, look around your driveway at least once a week, and if you find any weed, pull them out. If you don’t know how to remove weeds from the brick driveway, here are some ways you can try.
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- Pull the out by hand
- Use boiling water to kill weeds
- Use salt to kill weeds
- Use weeding tools that are readily available in the market
- Use organic weedicides
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Seal the driveway
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Sealing the brick driveway once every two-three years is an excellent idea to protect them and give them a longer lifespan. So, once you get the driveway thoroughly cleaned, you can apply a layer of sealant. Sealing will repel stains from the pavers, prevent the growth of weeds, save the pavers from UV rays and damage from snow. You can contact a professional paver service for best results.
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Sand the driveway
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If cracks begin to appear on your brick driveway, then the chances of widening of the cracks or growth of weed will increase many times. So, it is crucial to fill these cracks without much delay. You may use polymeric sand to fill the gaps. This method will hold the bricks together.
Brick pavers are easy to maintain. If you know how to maintain a brick driveway and want to indulge in DIY brick driveway maintenance, you may give it a try. However, there are chances of damaging the pavers in the process. If you scrub it too hard, use a harsh detergent, or don’t put the sealant evenly on the pavers, you may spoil your brick driveway. So, it’s best that you left the job to reliable pavers in Tampa.