View Full Version : Slippery Caithness Flagstones, help please.
Has anyone got a preventative piece of advice to stop caithness flagstones getting the green slime and going like sheet ice when wet? I keep brushing them down with jeyes fluid and I have jetwashed but the slabs just get slimey again within a couple of weeks.
Thanks in advance.:D
Get a big hammer, usually 7lb is enough but depending on the thickness of the slabs. Hit each slab until each one is broken into at least 100 pieces. Use this base as a foundation for your new path.
PS Dont use Caithness slabs unless you are about 100 yards from the nearest trees.
Has anyone got a preventative piece of advice to stop caithness flagstones getting the green slime and going like sheet ice when wet? I keep brushing them down with jeyes fluid and I have jetwashed but the slabs just get slimey again within a couple of weeks.
Thanks in advance.:D
We don't any major slime issues with our flags however they are very exposed, so they're getting well "aired" so to speak. Have you trees or a wall overlooking your path, that's maybe creating a sheltered breeding ground for the green stuff, perhaps?
I've heard that a good scrub down with a strong washing powder solution is supposed to help get rid of the greasiness, but have never tried this myself. There is some solution you can buy to specifically treat the green stuff, but I can't for the life of me remember what it's called, I'll need to ask MammaBurd (who highly recommends it incidentally).
As for the sheet ice - I just spend the winter walking on the grass instead :lol:!
Jeemag_USA
26-Aug-07, 15:42
Have you thought about using a bonder, I know there is stuff you can buy to put a protective coating on concrete and stone to protect them against water wear and fungus and so on, maybe the same thing would work on flagstone.
I discovered something by accident one day, you know the stuff you get for shining your car tires, makes them look all new and shiney. I sprayed some on my driveway and where I sprayed it the water does not stick to it, and I am pretty sure nothing else will grow on it either, maybe I shoudl patent it. That stuff basically puts a rubber coating on things. I put some on my driveway over a year ago, and its still there making the rain run off of it. And when it is dry you can't see its on there.
You'd have to really give your flagstone a good scrubbing or sandblasting before applying anything like that though.
Rheghead - we've never found a cleaning fluid yet which works. We are, however, surrounded by trees so have decided to get rid of the Caithness flagstone. We'll be adopting Gleeber's suggestion for our 2008 project.
Jeemag_USA
26-Aug-07, 19:01
I am real curious now, if anyone woudl be willing to try what i suggested i'd be real interested to see wht the results are. Get a bottle of tire shine, scrub down one flagstone and allow to dry, and then on a sunny dry day spray on a liberal coating of tire shine and then keep a check on it to see what happens over time.
lady penelope
26-Aug-07, 19:16
Our caithness slabs don't have that problem but noticed in Homebase HG systems sell green slime remover. Maybe that'll be worth a try?
I normally mix washing liquid and washing powder and scrub hard with hot water
The cause is an algae and the cure is to kill it.
Use Jeys fluid - it works for me.
mum used to use bleach on them squirt it on give a quick rub with the brush and leave till the rain washes it off!...they have since been removed...1 used to be particulary lethal many a bump or bruise or grazed knee on that 1!!
I am real curious now, if anyone woudl be willing to try what i suggested i'd be real interested to see wht the results are. Get a bottle of tire shine, scrub down one flagstone and allow to dry, and then on a sunny dry day spray on a liberal coating of tire shine and then keep a check on it to see what happens over time.
I'm going to take you up on the challenge Jeemag - I'd like to keep the Caithness flagstone, even if we have to relocate it beyond the patio door. Is the "tire shine" you used "Meguiar's" by any chance? That's the car cleaning stuff we use - it's produced by an American company - good but very expensive here but we do have two local stockists. I've never bought "tire shine" in my life though - are you a car-snob? ;)
Jeemag_USA
27-Aug-07, 00:35
I'm going to take you up on the challenge Jeemag - I'd like to keep the Caithness flagstone, even if we have to relocate it beyond the patio door. Is the "tire shine" you used "Meguiar's" by any chance? That's the car cleaning stuff we use - it's produced by an American company - good but very expensive here but we do have two local stockists. I've never bought "tire shine" in my life though - are you a car-snob? ;)
Not sure, I know its not meguiars, I think it is Simoniz, but I will check when I go out to the garage for a smoke :Razz
You've been in the garage for over 24 hours now Jeemag. Are you OK?
Jeemag_USA
28-Aug-07, 01:24
You've been in the garage for over 24 hours now Jeemag. Are you OK?
Oops sorry, mine is made by Armor All, has a wee pic of a viking on it.
I think they are pretty much all the same though, its like a clear rubber solution. The one thing I noticed about the stuff I put on my concrete drive, whe it rains all the concrete looks wet, but where the tire shine is it looks bone dry, and its been lasting for a long time.
http://www.armorall.com/img/products/wheel_tire/r_arm_ets22oz_0706.jpg
Flagstone isn't as porous as concrete but it would be interesting to see if protectors would work on it.
Following on with the ArmorAll, In Canada there used to be a solution that you rolled or brushed onto the interlocking paving and concrete to seal and protect it from oil spills etc. If it is available here it may be just as effective and cheaper than small bottles of ArmorAll.
Is there any way you could make the surface a bit rough after cleaning, at least you would have a bit of a grip to walk on. I also hear that washing powder is very good to clean paths with and saw it on a TV program about cleaning stately homes, IE home cleaning tips. Jan
thebigman
30-Aug-07, 19:24
Farmer's lime will clear the algea which makes it slippy. Wear and mask and gloves and don't spread it when windy.
I agree farmers lime works on any paving, it removes moss aswell.
We have 2 dogs in our yard and the smell of wee is really overpowering sometimes even though i use jeyes fluid and disinfectant twice a week. Have any of you got a remedy for having a wee smell free yard ?? janx
We have 2 dogs in our yard and the smell of wee is really overpowering sometimes even though i use jeyes fluid and disinfectant twice a week. Have any of you got a remedy for having a wee smell free yard ?? janx
Jan, our yard is the same - so it's back to basics...
I clear our yard & hose it down after, then I get a bucket of warm water with bicarb of soda (the BIG packets, not the diddly pots you get in supermarkets!) a couple of tablespoons should do & if you can get hold some old fashioned Borax powder, and/or some WHITE vinegar - (not malt!) add a splash of that too.
I used to buy flash, cillit bang, & all sorts, but nowadays, I used Bicarb, borax, white vinegar, zoflora disinfectant & Jeyes powder... a LOT cheaper & it all cleans great & smells great too!
http://www.dripak.co.uk/
Good luck, Julie
x
I don't know if it will work but anything is worth a try. There is a hydrochloric acid path cleaner. I would don some rubber gloves ('cos I'm kinky!), pour a little in the centre of a slab and scrub around until you have done the whole slab. Leave for a while and then wash off with a mixture of bicarb to neutralise what's left of the acid. Try to keep it off the grass - kills it stone dead. :eek:
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.