How to Remove Mold From Exterior Tile, Walkways And Driveways

As a handyman and a landscaper, I have a lot of spare time during this most recent recession. For a few years, I contracted myself out to clean outdoor tile, walkways, driveways, and patios. I learned a lot about how to do a good job removing mold and moss around your house. Actually, I thought that the job was really fun, and it paid ready well.

The best and fastest way to do mold removal and mildew removal is to use a pressure washer. Now some people who don't know anything about pressure washers ( like the people who read them to you at Home Depot) will tell you that you can't use more than 2,500 psi to clean off tile and a lot of other things. These people are just plain wrong! When I cleaned tile and grout, I used a machine that did 3,500 psi and used four gallons per minute. It had a 13 hp Honda engine on it. I think that this is the way to go. Even if you paid a couple of hundred dollars extra for a stronger machine, you will be really glad that you did because every time you clean your tile, patios, walkways, or driveway, you will find that it only takes you about 30% of the time that it would, if you had been using a 6 hp, 2,500 psi machine. (Maybe the people of the rental shops recommend the smaller machine, so that they can charge you for more hours?).

When you use a large machine for pressure washing, you want to make sure that you have a 40° nozzle tip. In addition, make sure that you are always spraying the tile grout from at least 6 inches away. If there is an area of old grout that you think will get destroyed, just skip that part, or come back and try and clean it by hand. For really tough mold and mildew stains, you can try using "Wet and Forget", or a diluted concentration of bleach. Both of these should do a pretty good job at mold removal and helping you to get rid of the mold and mildew stain.