Bluestone Paving Cleaning — May Road, Toorak

Moss on bluestone does not sit on top of it. Basalt is full of small gas holes, and moss roots down into them, so a surface wash takes the green off and leaves everything that regrows it. Within a season it is back. The joints are the other half: they hold moisture longer than the stone, which is why growth starts there.

Treatment went on first to kill the growth down in the pores, not just strip the colour off the top. Pressure was kept moderate — bluestone has softer inclusions through it, and too much pressure blasts them out and leaves the surface pitted. Acidic products stayed away from it entirely: there is iron in the stone, and acid can bring it up as rust-coloured bloom that is far harder to fix than the moss was.

• Growth treated in the pores, not just washed off the top
• Moderate pressure only, to avoid pitting the stone
• No acidic products used on the bluestone
• Joints cleared separately from the paved surface
• Run-off directed away from garden beds
• Before and after photographs supplied

• Ground-in dirt and moss removed across the paving
• Joints cleared, where the regrowth normally starts
• Surface texture intact, no pitting or blasted inclusions
• No rust bloom or discolouration