Most home owners have searched google or AI asking “Why is my driveway black?” The reason is because mold and algae flourish in our climate. Having your driveway professionally cleaned at least once per year will keep your driveway looking new. The peace of mind by having it properly cleaned and treated will ensure its stays noticeably cleaner for a longer period of time. Pressure washing with cold water and skipping the chemical pre-treatment and/or post treatment only gives you a two or three month window of a “visually clean” surface. The chemicals do the majority of the work and get down deep into the pores ensuring a quality job.
Tips to keeping yourself from asking,”Why is my driveway black?”
Refrain from installing elevated planter beds. This is huge as a lot of our driveway/walkways already have low spots. Fixing a low spot might not be achievable depending on circumstances, but high planter beds create a dam like effect. Home owners and now some home builders like to install “elevated planter beds”. Yes these elevated planter beds look nice, but unfortunately they create accelerated algae growth on your hardscape. By piling up your mulch excess water carrying decaying organics only have one direction to go.
Cut back over grown shrubs that cantilever over your concrete/pavers. The soil under hedges are always damp and filled with decaying organics like wood mulch and hedge trimmings. This creates the perfect habitat for algae to flourish. Combine that with poor drainage or overwatering and you are just accelerating mold growth onto your adjacent concrete/pavers.
Use your leaf blower to remove tree droppings. Tree canopies that hover directly over your hardscapes will drop organics daily. Cutting down that beautiful tree is not an option in most cases. Trees add beauty to your exterior, provide shade, and can even reduce electricity bills if the tree(s) block enough direct sunlight hitting your home. It is readily apparent the dirtiest part of your driveway is directly under your tree.
Keep potted plants off your driveway and front patio. Watering potted plants on top of pavers or concrete will always result in a nasty black mold growing around the planters. My wife along with everyone else love to have planters next to the front door. Just know that watering planters on top of hardscapes combined with dead leaves and flower buds around the base of planters accelerates mold/algae growth.
Battery operated leaf blowers are inexpensive. Buy and regularly use a leaf blower to blow off debris.