As if working all day and taking the care of the house and family isn't enough, you have outdoor maintenance to do as well. But when you are busy, maintaining your driveway and patio may be the last on your list of priorities. Of course, if you neglect these areas, there will be a price to pay. If you want to avoid expensive and time-consuming problems, you need to practice at least minimal maintenance on your paved areas.

Sweeping

Sweeping is important to make the outside of your home look tidy, but the main reason you need to sweep regularly is to keep plant seeds from sprouting in any openings. For instance, if you leave maple pods lying unattended, you will soon have miniature trees growing up in the cracks and breaks that are likely to exist in any paved area. Preventing sprouts is important for the appearance of your driveway or patio, but it also prevents cracks from growing larger. Grass and trees sprouts will widen these openings, eventually leading to a serious patching or repaving job. If you do have weed and grass growth, you need to remove them as soon as possible.

Washing

A pressure washer is a wonderful gadget that can easily clean your outdoor areas. If you do not own one, you may want to consider renting one once a year. You do not want to power wash your driveway or patio pavers too often, however. Bricks and other paving substances are often packed together with sand. When you power wash, you lose some of this filler. You need to replace it to make certain that your stones or bricks stay in place. You can hand wash your pavement at other times with warm soapy water. Obviously, this step requires getting down on your hands and knees, but it does remove stains while keeping the sand in place. You can gently rinse the pavers with a garden hose.

Sealant

Your driveway and patio should already have a sealant on them to protect the finish and extend the life of your pavement. If it's been a few years since this substance has been applied, you may need to re-seal your paved areas after you power wash or hand scrub them. A little sealer applied when necessary can save you repair costs down the road.

Maintaining your driveway and patio doesn't take much time, and like most maintenance tasks it can prevent bigger problems in the future. Try and work a little brushing and cleaning time into your busy schedule.

If you require more assistance or repair, such as crack filling or sealcoating, contact paving contractors in your area sooner rather than later in order to avoid even bigger problems in the future. 

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