You can learn a lot from watching TV. For example, the other day I just happened to catch Sabrina Soto on an episode of HGTV’s “Get it Sold,” cleaning a dingy brick fireplace with bathroom cleaner. She got a can of Scrubbing Bubbles foam and sprayed it all over some charred marks on the fireplace’s brick façade. She let the bubbles work into the brick and then scrubbed them off with a stiff-bristle brush. Within minutes the black bricks were restored to their original red color. Amazing.
Come to find out, the cleaning trick can be used on any brick surface, from patios to walls. While brick is decorative, functional, and retains its natural beauty longer than many other building materials, it also needs to be cleaned on a regular basis to keep it in tip-top shape. If you don’t clean your brick regularly it will take on a grimy appearance. What’s more, if you have a lot of brick outdoors, you run the risk of it becoming a magnet for mold, moss and slime.
If you have a brick patio, then Sabrina Soto’s cleaning trick may not be the best method. For large brick surfaces the best way to clean is power washing. The problem with power washing is that you typically have to rent, borrow or purchase the tools. However, once you have the proper equipment, mold and moss stains are easy to eliminate. Simply shoot water from the power washer over your brick patio using even strokes and the grime should lift off almost instantaneously.
If the stains persist even after power washing, then you’ll have to start scrubbing. Instead of buying expensive brick cleaning solutions, simply mix chlorine bleach and water, and scrub the stains with a stiff-bristle brush. Once you remove the stains, rinse the brick thoroughly with clean water.