In addition to the many reasons you keep every part of your home’s landscape clean, tidy and trimmed, there’s another very important reason to clean stepping stones along paths, walkways, and steps.
Safety. The more you keep your stepping stone clean of dirt, debris and overgrowth, the safer they will be for your family and visitors to use.
3 Types of Stepping Stones and How to Clean Them
Of course, the first step in keeping any type of stepping stone clean is to remove anything growing on them and trim grass and plants that are growing over them. With that safety advice out of the way, here’s how to clean different types of stepping stones.
Cement Stepping Stones
Cement is as durable a building material as there is. That makes power washing one of the fastest and most effective ways of cleaning them. But, if you’ve used a power washer before, you know that they are capable of harming areas that are not designed to take the intense pressure. So, when cleaning cement stones with a power washer, be careful to keep the stream of water on the stone itself to avoid damaging plants, gardens or decorative stone that surrounds the stone.
Brick Stepping Stones
Almost as durable as cement, brick stones can also be cleaned with a pressure washer, but it’s best to do so only for tougher cleaning jobs. For regular cleanings of easily removed dirt and grime, you can try a garden hose with the nozzle set to “jet”.
If you want the brickwork to look “like new”, you can try hand cleaning using a brush and a cleaner made up of about a teaspoon of dish detergent, 2 cups of vinegar and a gallon of water.
Stained Glass Stepping Stones
Cleaning stained glass stones takes a little more care. Power washers and brushes are not an option. Instead, wet the stones with your garden hose and wipe them with a cleaning cloth. For tougher jobs, the homemade cleaner listed above can be used after you wet the stones.
To learn more about how stepping stones and other landscaping features can improve your outdoor living space, check out our article “The Benefits of Landscaping for Your Home”.
