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How to clean your terrace?
A Burgundy limestone terrace will sublimate your home and bring it an incomparable cachet. Some points are to be known about the protection and maintenance of tiles or pavers outdoors.
Stone Patio Protection
We strongly recommend protecting your terrace with a water / oil repellent product after the laying. This product called Imperpierre is applied with a garden sprayer (or roller depending on the surface) on a clean and dry support. It will slow down the appearance of mosses and lichens, especially if you have trees above the terrace, or if it is exposed to the north.
Another permanent treatment is the application of a mineralizing agent that penetrates the material to fill its porosity through a chemical process called mineralization. We invite you to learn more about the functions of our mineralizer.
Limestone patio maintenance
Cleaning a blackened limestone patio
Limestone paving requires maintenance, typically at the end of winter, before you bring out garden tables and chairs. High-pressure cleaners should be avoided as they remove the stone's protective layer (the calcin). This creates a vicious cycle: with the removal of the calcin, moss and microorganisms form more quickly and deeply, making it increasingly difficult to remove them.
Limestone flooring is maintained, usually at the end of winter, before you take out garden tables and chairs. High-pressure cleaners are to be avoided because they remove the protective layer of the stone (cullet). A vicious circle begins : with the removal of cullet, mosses and micro-organisms form more and more quickly and deeply and it is then harder and harder to remove them.
However, at a certain point, if the patio has all its stones blackened, the only solution will be to use a high-pressure cleaner and then re-protect the stone. It will then be up to you to maintain it regularly to avoid returning to the stage of blackened stones!
Instead, use specific fungicides for natural stones such as Determousse or bleach diluted to 1/10th with a brush broom. This is the best way to keep a beautiful and resplendent stone. After cleaning with Determousse, we recommend protecting the stone with a water repellent or mineralizing treatment for natural stone.
