What Are The Best Ways To Clear Leaves From Your Drive?

What Are The Best Ways To Clear Leaves From Your Drive?

After the summer ends, the autumn chill and the resultant fall of leaves can have a remarkable effect on your driveway, and may require some additional maintenance to avoid any issues in winter.

Depending on your definition of autumn, it began either on the first day of September or the 22nd, but in either case, the effects of wetter, slippier paving, gravel or resin can create a safety hazard if not taken care of.

One aspect of this is the leaves themselves, which can affect traction when wet, but they can also cause blockages in the drains, which can cause them to overflow, creating standing water and a slip hazard. Standing water can also damage your driveway if left unchecked.

Leaving wet leaves on the driveway can also cause them to start to rot whilst on the surface of your drive, creating scuff marks and stains that are remarkably difficult to get rid of.

This makes clearing your drive an important semi-regular job from the middle of September up until the end of October, when all the leaves have finally fallen.

A stiff-bristle broom or a rake designed for hard surfaces is an ideal first step, as they make it easy to gather up leaves to use for composting.

However, a leaf blower or pressure washer can be much faster, easier to do and help clean off stains that have been left to linger on your driveway.

Use a tarpaulin or a large sheet and move leaves in that direction. This makes it easier to bundle the leaves together than putting them into piles to put in bin bags or in a composting bin.

As well as this, work from the edges to the middle, working with the wind as much as possible to save effort and stop yourself from having to clear areas multiple times.