Power hosing the driveway

Hammer89

I'm under increasing pressure to do this; not by wife, girlfriend or mother, but by the local traveller who I tell once every two weeks that I have my own power hose. If he calls again, I suspect he might think I'm lying to him and I just don't want a traveller in my driveway for an extended period, which is true, but I do indeed have a power hose.

Problem is, every time I use it the f*cking weeds grow back within literally a week, and it's a messy-as-f*ck job so ideally I'd love to be able to leave it for a year or so without having to re-do it. Question is - does that sand trick actually work? I've seen people swear by it, but I've also seen people rubbish it.

I also don't trust myself to pull off that job, if it does work, but does it work and how would I go about doing it?

Calahonda52

Can you tell us more about the type of driveway you have that you want less travel(er)ed.

My guess is it is cobble lock so why not spray it, and if it has moss use MMC Pro at the correct dilution, don't try and stretch it by over diluting it
the sand trick only provides a fresh bedding of sand for the next seeds

Sgt Pepper 64

Hammer89 wrote: »

I'm under increasing pressure to do this; not by wife, girlfriend or mother, but by the local traveller who I tell once every two weeks that I have my own power hose. If he calls again, I suspect he might think I'm lying to him and I just don't want a traveller in my driveway for an extended period, which is true, but I do indeed have a power hose.

Problem is, every time I use it the f*cking weeds grow back within literally a week, and it's a messy-as-f*ck job so ideally I'd love to be able to leave it for a year or so without having to re-do it. Question is - does that sand trick actually work? I've seen people swear by it, but I've also seen people rubbish it.

I also don't trust myself to pull off that job, if it does work, but does it work and how would I go about doing it?

Move house

eeguy

Build a gate and keep it closed.

Buona Fortuna

eeguy wrote: »

Build a gate and keep it closed.

Electric gates

Sgt Pepper 64

Hammer89 wrote: »

I'm under increasing pressure to do this; not by wife, girlfriend or mother, but by the local traveller who I tell once every two weeks that I have my own power hose. If he calls again, I suspect he might think I'm lying to him and I just don't want a traveller in my driveway for an extended period, which is true, but I do indeed have a power hose.

Problem is, every time I use it the f*cking weeds grow back within literally a week, and it's a messy-as-f*ck job so ideally I'd love to be able to leave it for a year or so without having to re-do it. Question is - does that sand trick actually work? I've seen people swear by it, but I've also seen people rubbish it.

I also don't trust myself to pull off that job, if it does work, but does it work and how would I go about doing it?

why do you even answer the door to him?

looksee

Power hoses are not intended to get rid of weeds. You may hose off some of them but you are not improving the chances of them not regrowing. Use the power hose to clean the drive (use it on a wide spray, not the narrow jet as this will just result in lines on the bricks. It is also damaging to the surface. Then use weedkiller to discourage weeds.

tcif

I used to mix the sand with salt and granular weedkiller before brushing it into the cobbles and that helped hugely in slowing down any regrowth, but you have to be careful if you have any adjacent lawn, flower beds etc to avoid contamination or run-off and try to brush as much as you can in/off the cobbles themselves (I never had any problem with staining but just to be on the safe side).

GrumpyMe

Hammer89 wrote: »

...Problem is, every time I use it the f*cking weeds grow back within literally a week...

Are you removing the weeds completely or just pushing them down between the cobbles where they continue to grow?

eeguy

Dig out weeds and old sand.

Spray with Roundup.

Lay new sand.

Spray with more Roundup.

Enjoy years with no weeds

GrumpyMe

AFAIK Roundup only works on contact and works best when plant is actively growing. Supposed not to persist in soil.
Something like Path Clear would work better in eeguy's scenario.
But that's because it persists in soil for an extended period... Environmentally "Steer Clear"!