If your driveway, pathway, or other hardscaping features feature interlocking, you know that it can look wild if not appropriately maintained.
The joints can cause weeds to grow while the stone gets faded or crusted with white salt. Maybe a few stones are cracked or missing from the piece. If you want to prevent such a scene from happening, you need to know how to clean and seal the interlock properly.
Firstly, you need to understand that pavers and slabs have pores, just like your skin does. But on interlocking, these holes can fill up with sand, dirt, salt, and stains.
Using a sealant to fill them out can protect them and allow them to last longer. To ensure the sealant absorbs effectively into the slabs, you should minimize the chances of stains or efflorescence before sealing.
Joint Stabilization:
Joint stabilization is the first step in maintaining interlocking. The joints refer to the connecting sand between the slabs or pavers.
If maintained properly, they won’t be affected by weeds or insects, but they can quickly get overrun if not. Therefore, it’s necessary to use a joint stabilizer like polymeric sand when sealing.
Cleaning Interlock:
There are many specialized cleaners that you can use to remove stains from your hardscaping. However, you do need to know which product will work best for each kind of stain.
There are cleaning solutions available for organic stains, rust, oil, grease, and more.
Take caution that you don’t use pressure washers or DIY solutions since these may damage the landscaping. Instead, choose a product specifically created for cleaning interlocking.
Sealing Interlock:
The best time to seal your interlocking is when you are getting landscaping done. The professionals can help you seal your interlock to ensure it lasts well for many years.
After installation, you should wait for 60 to 90 days before sealing since this allows any efflorescence to go away.
There are a number of sealing products, including solvent-based sealants and water-based sealants. Your landscaping professional can help you choose which one is the best for the materials you used in landscaping.
When sealing the interlock, you need to use a roller or sprayer and apply a thick, consistent layer without any streaks.
After five minutes, the sealant should absorb, after which you need to repeat the process a few times. Once the interlocking stops absorbing the sealant, you can stop and clean away the excess by back rolling.
Remember only to do this on a cool and dry day, as extreme moisture and heat may damage the sealant.
If you would rather a professional does this for you, get in touch with Stone Solutions Maine. We provide driveway installations as well as custom paver driveways in Saco. Contact us on our website to learn more.