Blocked paved drive

Just buy a 5 litre tub of white vinegar, pour it in a 5 litre pump sprayer and spray away merrily. I have one paved drive and another pebbled drive and yes, weeds do grow through but after the vinegar spraying they are dead at the end of the day. I spray around my property too as some neighbours don't think about weeding outside of their garden walls and they look so unsightly. Pressure washing Cotswold stone may damage it as the stone is very soft and even though pressure washing will remove the dirt it can also remove some of the stone. Perhaps speaking to a Cotswold stone specialist or go online may give you some ideas of what to do.

I have recently been quoted about £2000 to deal with my block paved drive, which includes sealing. I have turned them down. Going to try the white vinegar method.

Online, there’s a recommendation to add salt and washing up liquid to the white vinegar before spraying.
I haven’t tried it, but I have a big block paved drive and use Pathclear in a watering can, over the whole area a couple of times a year, but I do remove the odd weed as they appear.
I had it ‘professionally’ cleaned a couple of years ago - what a mess - never again.

I do the paving slabs at the front with vinegar and salt. It works, but has to be applied more frequently than weed killer. Which I don’t mind doing.
In our courtyard we have small pavers ( previous owners idea). I hand weed and let self sown plants such as primrose and Erigeron grow. I appreciate you’d not want these on your drive.

My father used to pay a guy to clean the drive and patio . It became more and more expensive .
I don't particularly like the look of stark paving on the drive and patio .
I clean the weeds off with vinegar and washing up liquid and then , have resorted to having thyme , erigeron ,and a type of campanula .
There are lots more pretty plants to choose from .

Vinegar, salt and washing up liquid. My husband got rid of all traces of very invasive horse tails with one dose !

I’ve now got what looks like duckweed growing in between every bit of block paving on my driveway! To be honest it looks quite ok and I’m not going to bother at all !

I use non toxic weed killer and apply with an old soft sweeping brush( easier than spraying)
and old mop bucket and then cover the lot over with a cheap blue tarp to allow for action to take place. It keeps the area dry too. Once removed weeds die off quickly. I do this twice a year.

Just yesterday I sprayed my gravel stone driveway that was full of weeds using the vinegar salt and dish soap mixture, this morning I checked and the weeds are all yellow and dead.That mixture works great and so cheap.

How much vinegar, salt and detergent?
I have a huge blocked area around my house and long-standing weeds are problematic.

I will be the happiest G in the world if something as simple as white vinegar will clear my block-paved drive, long pathway and patio of weeds. Whole area is about 1500 sq feet.

As LL asks, how much of each for that area?

And another question - every year we have a go at this task using something different and have to buy a new sprayer cos last year's won't work. Sometimes they give up half way through the job. What are we doing wrong?

Oh, and what IS "Dish Soap"? I assumed it was an American term for - w/u liquid?

Yesterday I read that biological laundry powder followed by boiling water, or diluted and then sprayed with water is also very good for weeds, particularly on gravel. Haven’t tried it myself.

Happy to try vinegar salt and washing up liquid. What ratio do I have to use please.

Please may I have the quantities. Was planning this task this weekend.

I would be very wary about spraywashing cotswold stone.. as someone said earlier it is a very soft stone..

LovelyLady, the recipe I use is 1 gallon of white vinegar, 8 ounces salt and one table spoon washing up liquid.

Madmeg, sorry, yes, dish soap is what we use in Canada, in the UK you use washing up liquid😀

Thanks Llamedos.

Anyone any advice about the sprayer?

The builder who laid our block paving drive told us his Mother sweeps her drive every week and never has weeds etc. We are doing the same and so far, so good. My husband treats the drive every few years to keep it nice.

Sarahr

The builder who laid our block paving drive told us his Mother sweeps her drive every week and never has weeds etc. We are doing the same and so far, so good. My husband treats the drive every few years to keep it nice.

So sorry Sarahr but I have a vision of your drive tucking in to a box of chocs for its 'treat'.

I know what you meant; I just read it skew-whiff and it made me chuckle. I think my drive would appreciate a cup of tea and a digestive biscuit. ...

but it gets the vinegar/washing up liquid and salt treatment like everyone else's!

I really dislike blocked paving, a weeds happy home. I wished I had kept my grass, easier to care for, . Don't need it for parking.

I was having the same trouble. Now before putting it away for the winter I put a good amount of just warm water in it, swirl it around and the throughly spray it through. I think some residue from the mixes I was spraying throughout the summer were clogging up the sprayer over winter. Worth a try as they are expensive to keep on replacing.

Thanks redrobin. I will have to buy a new one first!!!