Cleaning my pebble water feature

[Primrose]

The large pebbles in my pebble water feature are looking very grotty. Can anybody suggest an easy way of cleaning them up that doesn't involve having to scrub each one with a scrubbing brush. They originally had some lovely subtle shades in them which are now covered in grime.

[Gilly C]

I have just bought some Algon to do the paths and am going to try it on mine will let you know how or if it works !

[Chantal]

I was told a long time ago to add a very small quantity of bleach to my water feature which would keep the stones clean and the water clear. My aunt does this and swears by it but she has a paved courtyard type garden with little wildlife. I've never tried as I've always worried too much about the frogs.

[Gilly C]

Me too that's why I thought Algon might work it is supposed to be safe for pets I hope it works as my pebbles are white ! they were ok last year and year before but this year they are YUK

[Primrose]

Yes I'd heard about the bleach suggestion too but my pebble feature does attract a number of frogs, especially the babies for whom it represents a safe environment after they've just migrated from the pond, so adding anything in the water isn't an option. So perhaps the Algon might work but I assume the pebbles would have to be soaked in a large container, so I'd have to do a few at a time.

[Gilly C]

it says spray and leave I assume rain cleans up so would have to leave a few days anyway tring to get it done tomorrow, time will tell ! it does say it scorches leaves but does no damage to roots so I must remember to take the plants out first !

[Primrose]

Gilly, I will wait for you to report back on your experience. On thinking about this, I've got three of these large rubber garden trugs and possibly if I took all the pebbles off the black base and let them soak overnight in a weak bleach solution, this might work as an alternative as long as I washed any residue off before replacing them in case rain washes it down into the water sump and pollutes the water. I'm going to experiment with just a few pebbles today and see what happens.

[Primrose]

Well, I tried my little experiment last night soaking a few pebbles in a bucket of lightly bleached water. It has worked brilliantly, removing all the muck off the pebbles and restoring them to their lovely pink and beige tones. There's only one drawback. I couldn't toss the bleached water away in the garden so had to lug it back into the kitchen to dispose of. There are lots of pebbles to treat and the rubber trugs containing the water will be far too heavy to carry into the kitchen, even after the pebbles have been removed. So I'll have to treat a few at a time. Maybe I can speed things up by soaking somein my sink overnight but I suspect the plug isn't that watertight.

[Chantal]

You could put the bucket in the sink Primrose.

[Johnboy]

Good thinking Batwoman!
JB.

[Primrose]

Update on cleaning my pebbles. They were soaked in a light bleach solution overnight in my rubber trugs and individually rinsed off in a bucket of clean water. Virtually all the grime has disappeared apart from a few subborn stains and I'm very pleased with the result. The sump hadn't been cleaned out for 2 years so you can imagine how pongy the water was. We haven't been running the pump during the winter, and perhaps we should have done, just to keep the water aerated. Anyway, we now have crystal clear water which is pumping out about four times more vigorously than previously. Another tick on the "To Do" list!