April 22nd, 2021 by Sarah Miles

Have you ever tried to scrub away at the nasty black marks on your drive or patio and ended up with a sore back and knees but made very little difference to the black spots?  This is because black lichen (which is what the spots are) is clever: not only is it a hardy combination of 3 different types of organism (algae, fungi and bacteria), it also forms a hard crust on its surface that will resist your best attempts to scrub it off.

How can you get rid of it then?

Don’t despair, because something that started out as a very difficult issue to resolve actually has a very simple solution. If you have been unable to remove black lichen through pure elbow grease or by using household cleaners, that’s because the one thing you’ve been missing is an active ingredient that breaks down black lichen. This is why products such as Homefront patio cleaner work so much better than bleach or other household items.

Homefront Black Spot Remover and Patio Cleaner 5L

Price: £24.95

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To effectively remove black lichen you need a product that is specifically formulated to do so. Not only is it very effective, it actually does most of the work for you! (Plus, you don’t need any specialist equipment).

There are 3 simple steps to getting rid of the black spots that have been dogging your hard surfaces:

1. Fill a watering can or pump sprayer with Homefront patio cleaner (no need to dilute, it’s ready to use) and pour directly onto the surface you want to clean.
2. Let it work its magic. The cleaner needs to be left on the surface to break down the lichen for a minimum of 2 hours but preferably overnight. You don’t need to do anything at this stage: no scrubbing required!
3. Rinse away with clean water. You can use a watering can or hosepipe for this

Your surface should now be gleaming! Not only will it be free of black lichen, but it will also be cleaned of any other grime and dirt as well.

Top Tips

Here are a few things to bear in mind when applying the cleaner:

• Keep children and pets away from the area until the cleaner is washed off and the surface is dry
• Take note of the weather forecast and only apply if you can be confident there won’t be any showers for the duration. Rain will just wash the cleaner off earlier than intended and it may not be as effective
• Be careful not to get the cleaner onto plants or grass as it may harm them. It should be fine if some gets on when rinsing as this will be diluted but it’s a good idea to direct away from plants where possible
• You can use a pressure washer to rinse the product off but be careful not to set the pressure too high as you could potentially damage the surface