Removing moss from tarmac

Roger Tonkin

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Jan 17, 2014, 2:48:00 PM1/17/14

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Our house faces north, and as such the tarmac drive
gets no sun at all and is quite damp.

I've tried over the years removing the moss that grows
by scraping it off with a spade and blasting it off
with a power hose. Neither of which work really
successfully and are starting to damage the tarmac.

So it looks as if it must be a chemical attack, but
what with? I,m hoping to get to a garden centre next
week, so I'd like some idea of what has worked and
what to avoid if possible.

Many thanks

--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

Sacha

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Jan 17, 2014, 5:41:53 PM1/17/14

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A very weak dilution of e.g. Jeyes fluid, perhaps? But not if it's
going to run off into any plants you do want to keep. If the moss is
dangerous to you with regard to walking on it, I quite see your
concerns. If it's not and you're only concerned about appearance, my
own view would be to enjoy it but nobody would call my style 'tidy'!
;-) I like moss.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Larry Stoter

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Jan 18, 2014, 2:04:12 AM1/18/14

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Have a go with coca-cola - seriously.

Full strength coke is a good, cheap and easily obtainable cleaning
agent. Personally, I've used it for removing oil stains from concrete
which it does very effectively.

... which is why I can not understand anybody putting the stuff inside
themselves ...

Larry

stuart noble

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Jan 18, 2014, 4:48:31 AM1/18/14

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On 18/01/2014 07:04, Larry Stoter wrote:
> Roger Tonkin <pwll...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Our house faces north, and as such the tarmac drive
>> gets no sun at all and is quite damp.
>>
>> I've tried over the years removing the moss that grows
>> by scraping it off with a spade and blasting it off
>> with a power hose. Neither of which work really
>> successfully and are starting to damage the tarmac.
>>
>> So it looks as if it must be a chemical attack, but
>> what with? I,m hoping to get to a garden centre next
>> week, so I'd like some idea of what has worked and
>> what to avoid if possible.
>>
>> Many thanks
>
> Have a go with coca-cola - seriously.
>
> Full strength coke is a good, cheap and easily obtainable cleaning
> agent. Personally, I've used it for removing oil stains from concrete
> which it does very effectively.
>

You mean motor oil? That would be amazing given all the expensive
products which don't work very well IME

Phil Gurr

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Jan 18, 2014, 6:34:19 AM1/18/14

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"Larry Stoter" <la...@666.com> wrote in message
news:1lfnq6c.1ne4koo1wn4oowN%la...@666.com...
> Roger Tonkin <pwll...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Snip

>> So it looks as if it must be a chemical attack, but
>> what with? I,m hoping to get to a garden centre next
>> week, so I'd like some idea of what has worked and
>> what to avoid if possible.
>>
>> Many thanks
>
> Have a go with coca-cola - seriously.
>
> Full strength coke is a good, cheap and easily obtainable cleaning
> agent. Personally, I've used it for removing oil stains from concrete
> which it does very effectively.
>
> ... which is why I can not understand anybody putting the stuff inside
> themselves ...

I know of a number of garages who use coca cola for cleaning
battery terminals!

Phil

Mike

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Jan 18, 2014, 6:48:06 AM1/18/14

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"Phil Gurr" wrote in message news:bjv760...@mid.individual.net...

======================================================

Bit more messy and sticky, but I am lead to believe that HP Brown Sauce is
good for that too

Mike

---------------------------------------------------------------
www.friendsofshanklintheatre.co.uk
www.hmscollingwoodassociation.com
www.rneba.org.uk
www.nsrafa.org

Larry Stoter

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Jan 18, 2014, 9:45:50 AM1/18/14

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Yes, motor oil, where a car has been standing and leaking oil.

Large bottle of coke, stiff brush and some newspaper. Poor some coke on
to the concrete and work the stiff brush in circles. Doesn't need to be
particularly hard or vigorous. The idea is to get the coke into all the
cracks. Keep the surface wet with fresh coke as necessary. After 5 mins
or so, soak all the liquid up with the newspaper.

Depending on how old the stains are, you'll need to reapeat several
times. When I've tried it, the oil stains where about 2 years old and 3
applications got rid of most of the stain.

Larry

echinosum

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Jan 20, 2014, 4:37:54 AM1/20/14

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"'Mike'[_4_ Wrote:
> ;997615"]Full strength coke is a good, cheap and easily obtainable

> cleaning
> agent. Personally, I've used it for removing oil stains from concrete
> which it does very effectively.
>
> ... which is why I can not understand anybody putting the stuff inside

> themselves ...[/i][/color]

>
> I know of a number of garages who use coca cola for cleaning
> battery terminals!
>

This is simply because it is among the most acidic of beverages on sale.
It has a pH of 2.8. Some vinegars are less acidic than that (Wikipedia
reports taht cider vinegar has a pH of over 4, which may explain why my
chilli preserve with cider vinegar went mouldy) though strong vinegars
are down to about 2.2. Lemon juice is usually slightly more acidic
than vinegar, around 2.0. But I expect that coca cola is generally
rather cheaper than vinegar or lemon juice. Maybe if you could bulk
source vinegar it might be cheaper.

The potential trouble with using coca cola is the sugar in it which
would make your drive sticky until it had been washed by the rain, and
you wouldn't want to be treating it except when you could get a couple
of dry days to allow it to get to work.

I use Patio Magic, which contains benzalkonium chloride. A 5litre
container retails for around �20, but you dilute it 2 or 3 times so get
about 10-15 litres to apply. They say that treats around 170 sq m, but
my drive is 140 sq m and I don't quite get coverage of it all, so I
concentrate on the worst bits. Smaller containers also available. I
suppose that is still a bit more expensive than coca cola. I was
surprised at the admonition that the moss and algae gradually reduce
after the initial kill, but it seems to be true, the drive continues
getting cleaner for several months after application. I wait until
spring to apply it.

There is a product called Algon, which claims to be "safer" and
"organic" but they won't say what the active ingredient is. I wonder if
it is just a strong vinegar.

--
echinosum

David Hill

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Jan 20, 2014, 10:25:43 AM1/20/14

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What about sugar free coke?

Mike

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Jan 20, 2014, 10:31:21 AM1/20/14

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"David Hill" wrote in message news:bk4tfj...@mid.individual.net...

=========================================

Don't use Diet Coke, your drive might shrink.

war...@hotmail.co.uk

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Jan 20, 2014, 1:41:12 PM1/20/14

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Armillotox

Jonathan

war...@hotmail.co.uk

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Jan 20, 2014, 1:42:25 PM1/20/14

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I believe some US police forces use it to clear up blood after accidents.

Jonathan

graem...@gmail.com

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Jan 21, 2014, 3:17:58 AM1/21/14

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According to http://www.rhs.org.uk/media/pdfs/advice/WeedkillersForGardeners it's acetic acid, so yep, pretty much just strong vinegar.

Graeme

Janet Tweedy

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Jan 21, 2014, 12:48:42 PM1/21/14

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On 17/01/2014 22:41, Sachs wrote:
> A very weak dilution of e.g. Jeyes fluid, perhaps? But not if it's going
> to run off into any plants you do want to keep. If the moss is
> dangerous to you with regard to walking on it, I quite see your
> concerns. If it's not and you're only concerned about appearance, my own
> view would be to enjoy it but nobody would call my style 'tidy'! ;-) I
> like moss.

No I know what the OP means. I have moss on my drive and it drives me up
the wall, as it just gets thicker sand in a suburban environment looks
neglected and untidy.
I spray weedkiller or pathclear on mine just to kill it but it takes an
extreme amount of effort to brush it off or even scrape it though a hoe
gets the thickest stuff clean out of the cracks, bleach would do or I
have found the salt I chucked over the ice last year also killed the moss.

--
Janet Tweedy
South Buckinghamshire

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rmacdonald

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Jan 22, 2014, 6:47:30 AM1/22/14

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'Roger Tonkin[_2_ Wrote:
> ;997596']Our house faces north, and as such the tarmac drive

I had the same problem so bought this;

'Twin Pack Super Strength Path & Patio Concentrate | Watering Can |
Spray' (http://tinyurl.com/qxwcbrx)

Dissolved the moss on my driveway and didnt discolour the tarmac as much
as some of the cheaper products I've tried. Used it back in September
and it hasn't regrown since.

--
rmacdonald

echinosum

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Jan 22, 2014, 8:44:25 AM1/22/14

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rmacdonald;997689 Wrote:
> I had the same problem so bought this;
>
> 'Twin Pack Super Strength Path & Patio Concentrate | Watering Can |
> Spray' (http://tinyurl.com/qxwcbrx)
>
> Dissolved the moss on my driveway and didnt discolour the tarmac as much
> as some of the cheaper products I've tried. Used it back in September
> and it hasn't regrown since.

That's got benzalkonium chloride just like the Patio Magic, but given
the much higher dilution it is recommending, it would seem to be quite a
bit cheaper. I'll have to remember the name, Doff.

--
echinosum