5 Tips to Maintain Your Concrete Driveway in the Summer
By Simply Driveways|June 21, 2019
Having a beautiful concrete driveway can be a dream come true for many homeowners. They give off this innate sense of luxury, ease, and elegance that simply can’t be beat by any other material. However, to keep your driveway looking its best year after year, making sure it receives the maintenance and care that it needs will be incredibly important.
The hot summer months can be especially harmful to concrete. Here are 5 tips you can keep in mind that will help ensure you protect and maintain your driveway starting today.
1. Clean, Clean, Clean
When it comes to keeping your concrete driveway in prime condition, one of the first things you’ll want to do is make sure you clean off any debris that’s collected on top of it during the winter. Snow piles are notorious for holding onto a large amount of stones, twigs, leaves, and other debris which then continue to sit in the same area once the snow melts.
These piles can be devastating for concrete. Make sure you take the time to properly sweep away any of these collections that you find and if you notice that there’s been mould or stains left behind, you may want to consider investing in a good power washing to really clean things off.
2. Fill and Seal Any Cracks
After you’ve washed and cleaned off your driveway, it will be time to check for cracks and holes. Even the smallest crack in your concrete can end up causing serious issues down the line, making it essential that you invest in filling and sealing your entire driveway. These seals will help ensure that water isn’t able to make its way through the cracks and underneath the concrete, which will then erode the ground underneath, removing any support your driveway might have. This will undoubtedly result in your driveway caving in, which will cost you hundreds, if not thousands to repair.
3. Take Care of Water
Water damage is one of the most destructive forces when it comes to your concrete driveway. As such, making sure you keep an eye out for pooling water will be essential. If you start to notice that you have a nice little pond in the corner of your driveway after every time it rains, making sure you invest in some sort of drainage system will be essential. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a completely destroyed area that you can’t use and can even be dangerous if left unattended.
4. No More Sharp Metal Objects
You might be extremely excited to start turning your front lawn into a beautiful garden paradise, but using your concrete driveway as a holding space for your sharp metal tools will be a really bad idea. Your shovels and picks can cause nicks and small damage to your driveway surface, which can lead to a weakening of the area and will eventually result in cracks. This summer, make sure you only lay out your gardening tools on the lawn to keep from having to replace and restore your driveway every year.
5. Get Started Early
It’s never too early to start caring for your driveway. Many homeowners find themselves unsure of whether or not they should start preparing their concrete driveways for the summer, but really when it comes to this kind of maintenance, the earlier the better.
Making sure you give your driveway the care it deserves will help keep it in prime condition for years to come. For best results, get in touch with the concrete driveway professionals at Simply Driveways to obtain expert guidance and advice.
The hot summer months can be especially harmful to concrete. Here are 5 tips you can keep in mind that will help ensure you protect and maintain your driveway starting today.
1. Clean, Clean, Clean
When it comes to keeping your concrete driveway in prime condition, one of the first things you’ll want to do is make sure you clean off any debris that’s collected on top of it during the winter. Snow piles are notorious for holding onto a large amount of stones, twigs, leaves, and other debris which then continue to sit in the same area once the snow melts.
These piles can be devastating for concrete. Make sure you take the time to properly sweep away any of these collections that you find and if you notice that there’s been mould or stains left behind, you may want to consider investing in a good power washing to really clean things off.
2. Fill and Seal Any Cracks
After you’ve washed and cleaned off your driveway, it will be time to check for cracks and holes. Even the smallest crack in your concrete can end up causing serious issues down the line, making it essential that you invest in filling and sealing your entire driveway. These seals will help ensure that water isn’t able to make its way through the cracks and underneath the concrete, which will then erode the ground underneath, removing any support your driveway might have. This will undoubtedly result in your driveway caving in, which will cost you hundreds, if not thousands to repair.
3. Take Care of Water
Water damage is one of the most destructive forces when it comes to your concrete driveway. As such, making sure you keep an eye out for pooling water will be essential. If you start to notice that you have a nice little pond in the corner of your driveway after every time it rains, making sure you invest in some sort of drainage system will be essential. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a completely destroyed area that you can’t use and can even be dangerous if left unattended.
4. No More Sharp Metal Objects
You might be extremely excited to start turning your front lawn into a beautiful garden paradise, but using your concrete driveway as a holding space for your sharp metal tools will be a really bad idea. Your shovels and picks can cause nicks and small damage to your driveway surface, which can lead to a weakening of the area and will eventually result in cracks. This summer, make sure you only lay out your gardening tools on the lawn to keep from having to replace and restore your driveway every year.
5. Get Started Early
It’s never too early to start caring for your driveway. Many homeowners find themselves unsure of whether or not they should start preparing their concrete driveways for the summer, but really when it comes to this kind of maintenance, the earlier the better.
Making sure you give your driveway the care it deserves will help keep it in prime condition for years to come. For best results, get in touch with the concrete driveway professionals at Simply Driveways to obtain expert guidance and advice.
