3 Ways to Remove Moss & Weeds from Pavers

The beautiful, wet climate of the PNW has a few not-so-beautiful downsides. One of them, which you are likely very aware of, is the tendency of moss and weeds to pop up in places where you don’t want them. Particularly in Portland, Salem, and Eugene, Oregon; as well as Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia, Washington, moss and weeds tend to grow in the cracks of backyard pavers and walkways. 

Good news—unwanted vegetation can be removed from the grooves in your hardscape! In this blog post, we’ll look at three simple ways to remove moss and weeds from the cracks in your pavers.

1. Scrape away moss or weeds with a flathead screwdriver

The first thing you can do is use a regular flathead screwdriver to scrape away the moss or weeds from your pavers. Make sure you break apart the moss and weeds without scratching the pavers. You can then use a stiff-bristle broom or brush to brush away the loosened weeds.

After the moss and weeds die, you can rinse off your pavers and then refill the paver joints with joint sand to prevent further unwanted weed growth.

2. Pull weeds or kill them using a weed-killer solution

If your joints are moist and you only have a few weeds large enough to pull, go ahead and remove them by hand. 

The second option you can implement to remove weeds from your pavers is to use a weed-killer solution. Spray the weeds as you normally would, but avoid too much overspray onto the pavers. After the weeds die, you should rinse the pavers to get rid of the dead weeds.

To kill moss, use a 1:1 bleach and water solution. The moss will die off in a few days and the bleach water won’t harm your pavers or any grass around.

Again, after the moss and weeds are gone completely, use joint sand to refill the joints in your hardscape and prevent additional moss and weeds from growing.

3. Spray away moss or weeds using a pressure washer

The last option you can use to get rid of unwanted moss or weeds in your pavers is to pressure wash the cracks. This will get rid of them, but do try to limit your water pressure to 1,500 PSI, and be careful to not spray away the joint sand or sealant. It will help if you keep your nozzle at least 6” away from your hardscape.

Once you finish spraying away the moss and weeds, sweep in fresh joint sand to make the pavers look like new.

Establish a paver maintenance plan

Paver maintenance doesn’t have to be complicated. To find some maintenance guidelines for your new or well-loved hardscape, download our free Project Planning Guide.