Clean Landscaping Rocks
Many people enjoy having rocks in their landscape, whether it’s boulders, flagstone paths or fine white marble mulch. Cleaning larger landscaping rocks doesn’t pose much of a problem. With a little hard work, you can clean even small landscape rock mulch should it start to look dirty or messy.
Contents
Steps
Large Boulders
Occasionally, large boulders get too dirty to be attractive. This can happen after a flood or perhaps on account of nearby construction that’s moving around lots of soil or creating muddy conditions. Time may add lichens or moss to a rock and some people may want to clean that off too.
- Use a broom to remove any loose dirt.
- Use a garden hose to wash off mud.
- Remove algae and moss if desired by scrubbing the rocks with vinegar and a scrub brush.
- Rinse rocks after scrubbing with a garden hose.
Flagstones and Pavers
Sometimes this type of rock in the landscape will get unattractively dirty but cleaning these rocks is an easy job.
- Sweep the rocks using a stiff bristled broom like a push broom. Sweep vigorously using a scrubbing motion.
- Scrub algae and moss off rocks using your stiff broom and some vinegar.
- Rinse with a garden hose fitted with a sweeper nozzle.
Rock Mulch
Here is where cleaning landscape rocks gets interesting. White rock in particular can become very unattractive with dirt and debris. It is going to take some work but if you want to preserve the rock mulch cleaning it can be done.
- Use a leaf blower to push as much debris out of the rocks as possible.
- Dig down to see if landscape fabric or plastic sheeting is below the rocks.
- Try washing the rocks with a garden hose first. Use a hose without a nozzle and flood the rocks with water, letting the water carry debris out of the rocks. This works best with landscape fabric or plastic under the rocks.
- Shovel the rock into a wheelbarrow or buckets if the first washing is ineffective. You’ll want to work in small sections. Fill the buckets or wheelbarrow half full or less with rocks.
- Fill the rock containers with water. If rocks are stained you could add 1 part household bleach to 2 parts water to cover the rocks for the first washing.
- Use a small shovel, garden spade or other sturdy tool to stir the rocks well, allowing dirt and debris to float up.
- Dump off the water carefully so the rocks aren’t dumped too. If you use bleach in the water don’t dump it on vegetation.
- Add water to the rock containers, stir and dump, and repeat until the water is clear and debris free.
- Rinse off landscape fabric or plastic where the rocks you removed laid and replace the rocks.
- Continue the washing process until all the rocks are clean.
Tips
- After washing the smaller rocks in a tub you may want to store them in another container or on a tarp until all the rocks are clean before replacing them.
- You may want to consider replacing rock mulch with the natural products like woodchips or pine straw.
- While weeds can be more of a problem without it, eliminating plastic sheeting or landscape fabric under rocks allows debris and dirt to settle further below the rocks and decompose.
- It is difficult to get stains like rust off rocks. Replacement may be easier.
- You may want to consider removing just the top part of small rock mulch and replacing it with a layer of new rock mulch.
- Sometimes stained flagstones or pavers can be flipped over to a cleaner side.
Warnings
- Never mix vinegar and bleach. It makes a toxic gas.
- Don’t get any bleach solution on your clothes or on vegetation you don’t want to kill.
- Wet paving and flagstones can be slippery.
- Don’t overload your rock washing containers so that you hurt your back dumping them.
Things You’ll Need
- Broom
- Scrub brush
- Hose and nozzle
- Vinegar
- Household bleach
- Shovel
- Wheelbarrow or large containers that hold water
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