Boiling water is readily available, cheap, natural, and effective for killing weeds between pavers. It can even kill seeds and roots, which makes it generally more effective (and cheaper) than using some other popular methods, such as vinegar.
You can use salt, baking soda, vinegar, or chemical herbicides to kill weeds and prevent them from growing again. It is not too late to revive your beautiful pavers.
Weeding on pavements
Fiskars paving brush, patio knife and weed forks are ideal tools for weeding between paving slabs on patios or any other hard to reach areas.
Pour hot water on patio weeds
'Just-boiled or hot water is a quick, easy way to get rid of weeds between the paving of a path or patio,' says Derry Watkins, owner of Special Plants garden and nursery in Wiltshire. 'It's great for stubborn perennial weeds like dandelions.
We recommend either purchasing a weed killing mix, or combining water, white vinegar and dish soap in a spray bottle. Once you have sprayed the weeds, wait until the mixture has killed them. Once the weeds are dead remove all the plant matter from the concrete joints.
Simply boil the kettle, or heat up some water in a pan, and then pour the boiling water into the gaps between the paving slabs to prevent weeds from growing. Pouring boiling water onto weeds can also make pulling them out easier. The soil and roots soften up and do not cling as stubbornly to the earth.
Whilst vinegar will not directly dissolve concrete itself, but it will degrade the cement that binds your concrete slabs or flags together. Extended exposure to vinegar will also cause any polish or sealant on your pavers to erode over time, leading to bleaching, stains and weathering.
To keep brick paving weed-free, you can choose from several strategies: spraying with herbicides, blasting seedlings with a flamethrower or hand weeding. Following up on any of these by filling joints with polymeric sand can dramatically reduce the problem long-term.
When using a pressure washer, a turbo head that disperses the pressure of the water over a wider area which helps to reduce the wearing down of the interlock from the water pressure. The focus of the spraying should be on the joints to remove the weed growth and not the surfaces of the pavers.
A hoe is a simple tool used to remove weeds and loosen the soil. It is made of a long rod of wood or iron, and a bent plate of iron fixed to it at one end.
A cultivator looks like a fork with bent tines. Use it as a weed puller tool to break up compact soil and loosen weed roots. A Japanese weeding sickle is a sickle with a sharp curved blade that lets you remove weeds with precision, preventing any damage to nearby plants. It both cuts and digs to remove weeds.
Similar to cleaning pavers with muriatic acid, avoid an intense concentration of bleach, as it can damage the pavers.
Baking soda is the key ingredient to killing unwanted weeds from any cracks in your your sidewalk or driveway. It's the same ingredient you use when baking cookies, so you don't have to run out of your house and buy something new. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, which is phytotoxic to plants.
To clean paver slabs, you can use a detergent, such as Dawn, or a vinegar-water solution that is gentle enough to effectively clean without causing damage to your concrete pavers.
Usually, hosing them down once a month is sufficient. Use soap and water, if the pavers are still dirty after sweeping and water hosing, make a solution of soap and water. You can use dish soap, laundry detergent, or any type of general-purpose cleaner. Never use bleach on your pavers, as it can damage the surface.
Baking soda is an amazing household cleaner, and it can work really well on your pavers too.
ROUNDUP® is ideal for use on paving, paths and driveways, as it penetrates right to the weeds to ensure a complete kill.
Another strategy that you can employ for keeping weeds out of your landscaping rocks is to have a layer of crushed stone and sand spread across the area where the larger rocks will be placed. The sand and crushed stone will not allow weeds to take hold.
While a thorough cleaning, sanding, and sealing process can significantly hinder weed growth and prevent them from taking over your paver system, it is important to understand that sealing alone cannot completely eradicate weeds.
Kitchen-strength vinegar may work on a few types of young weeds. Research on varying concentrations of acetic acid show that stronger is almost always better when it comes to weed control, so 20 percent acetic acid is more effective than a 5 percent or 10 percent concentration.