Does Patio Magic Work? – An Honest Review

Watch My Patio Magic Review Video

Before and After Photos of Patio Magic

There is a concrete slab outside my door, and I treated half of the slab with Patio Magic and took a photo.

One week later, I took another shot.

The 45 days after application, I took another photo.

Here they are:

This is me applying Patio Magic to half the patio slab. Note the face mask and gloves.

This is how the patio slab looks 45 days after I applied Patio Magic. All of the moss, mould, algae and lichens are gone.

I didn’t use power washers, brushes or even water to get these results. I didn’t even wash Patio Magic off the surface, I just applied it and left it alone for 45 days,

Why Does Patio Magic Take so Long to Work?

Patios become dirty and look grubby because lichens, mould, algae, and moss grows on the surface.

Unlike many other cleaning products, Patio Magic isn’t designed to melt away this growth.

Patio Magic isn’t particularly caustic.

Patio Magic contains a fungicide, and while that will kill the lichens, algae, mould and moss, it won’t burn them off the patio.

After applying Patio Magic, the patio will initially look the same as it did before.

However, as the organic matter dies after the application, it’s simply a case of waiting for the lichen/mould/algae etc., to degrade and decay away – this usually takes around 30-45 days.

Put it another way; Patio Magic will kill whatever is growing on your patio and ruining its appearance, but based on the results of my testing, it won’t remove it.

Patio Magic isn’t a powerful acid that melts away whatever it comes into contact with. Instead, I’ve found that you need to wait for the matter to naturally decay away after the treatment.

Patio Magic does work, but only if you have patience – It’s not for everyone, but there are alternatives.

In a Hurry? Use This Alternative to Patio Magic

If you’re in a hurry, Patio Magic isn’t for you; here’s a couple of reviews I found online:

I followed the instructions exactly and after 48 hours, I can’t see any change in the appearance of my patio.

I waited a few days and nothing. I got a different product and it cleaned the patio in a few hours.

If you need instant results, forget Patio Magic, you’ll need a far more aggressive cleaning chemical instead.

Try this:

Sodium Hypochlorite is a powerful bleach with a high alkaline content, so high that it’s corrosive to lichen, mould, moss and algae.

This chemical is widely used in the cleaning industry and can be found in dozens of professional and readily-available patio cleaning products and I’ve used it myself in the past.

Unlike Patio Magic, in my tests, I found that this chemical will dissolve the organic matter growing on the patio and in many cases, it got get rid of it in less than an hour.

I’m not exaggerating when I claim that you can quite literally watch the organic matter dissolve off your patio.

The video below was published by Dirty Drive-Away and contains everything you need to know about this product.

The before and after images are also nothing short of incredible:

The Drawbacks of Using Sodium Hypochlorite

Sodium Hypochlorite is a bleach and it’s harsh, here’s why I don’t use it:

• Sodium hypochlorite is corrosive to the point that it will take the skin off if abused.
• It’s also corrosive to most metals and can discolour them. It can also stain some plastics, this something I’ve seen before.
• It reacts with other chemicals, where it can give off fumes. It can’t be mixed with weedkiller for example.
• You will need to test a patch of patio first.
• It can’t be used on tarmac.
• When I tested it, I had to dilute and rinse it off the patio after the application, just to be safe.

The Benefits of Patio Magic

This is why I rate Patio Magic:

• It’s much gentler and reacts with fewer chemicals and surfaces.
• I’ve used it on patios, concrete, tarmac and timber decking/fences over the years and I’ve always had good results.
• There’s no need to rinse it off.
• I’ve never used a brush, there’s no need to scrub the patio. 
• It doesn’t contain powder or granules so it didn’t block my garden sprayers.

My Preference

I prefer Patio Magic as I don’t mind waiting for the dead matter to decay away naturally, and I know if I put it down once a year in the spring, that will be enough to remove and prevent lichens, algae, moss, mould etc.

I would only consider a more aggressive approach if I were in a hurry to clean the surface, perhaps I had visitors, or I was selling the house and wanted to spruce up the garden for potential buyers etc.

I’ve previously used the ingredient in Patio Magic on roof tiles to kill off green mould, lichens, and other organic matter, the feedback from customers has been very good.

My One Complaint

Patio Magic states in their marketing that the customer can see results in “3-4 days”.

Based on my testing and well over a decade of use, I feel this is nonsense and probably explains why some customers are disappointed and leave a negative review after a few days.

I can only presume that telling the truth would adversely affect sales as most people want fast results and wouldn’t want to wait 45 days.

Longevity: How Long Does Patio Magic Last?

Based on my experience, mould, lichens, moss, and other similar organic matter won’t start to regrow for at least a year and possibly much longer if the patio is located in a sunny spot.

If your patio is in a very shaded and damp garden, I suggest you reapply Patio Magic once a year. If it’s in a sunny spot, apply between once a year and once every two years.

At my previous property, which had a large patio area, I sprayed Patio Magic onto the surface once a year in the spring, and I had excellent results.

The Chemical-Free Option

If you don’t want to use chemicals to clean your patio, the next best thing is a pressure washer.

This is a more labour-intensive approach, and I’ve found that some lichens are so difficult to remove that they may remain.

Another option is to use a stiff broom and washing up liquid as this acts as a degreaser, removing pollution from the surface.

I’ve found that neither of these options will be as effective as Patio Magic or Hypochlorite, but they are more environmentally friendly.

FAQs

Below I’ll answer the most common questions about Patio Magic:

I Analysed 4469 Online Reviews – Here’s What I Found

As part of my research into Patio Magic for this guide, I analysed 4500 reviews in 2022.

Here’s what I found:

86% of reviewers gave Patio Magic a 4 or 5 stars rating. This is very high compared to alternative products.

Only 3% gave a rating of 1 star.

A considerable number of the negative reviews were from customers who hadn’t waited more than a few days before leaving a rating and comment.

There were several complaints that pet cats and dogs had become ill after licking the product from the patio (despite the warning label stating that pets should be kept off the patio until the product had dried).

Patio Magic has been sold online since 2010; the first review I could find was on the 28th of March 2010.

Choose Your Product

I hope you found my honest review of Patio Magic insightful.

Now it’s time to choose your patio cleaning product:

DIY Gardening’s Testing and Review Process

Daniel has been using the chemical in Patio Magic for well over a decade, primarily to treat roof tiles, concrete and tarmac in an effort to stop mould and lichen from growing.

DIY Gardening tested Patio Magic in April 2022 on a concrete slab that was dirty and had lichen growth on the surface – this is common and found on most external hard surfaces and is what makes them look grubby.

The testing period was 45 days and this review was published by Daniel Woodley. Claims and important statements were fact-checked by Hannah Miller prior to publication.

Learn more about DIY Gardening’s review process here.

New Patio Cost

I contacted dozens of landscape gardeners and asked them how much they charge to lay a new patio. This is the average price, based on the figures given to me.