Patio black spot stains, while only appearing as a minor nuisance at first, if left unchecked can quickly spread across your paving tiles.

Black spots, also known as lichen, on patios resemble ink splatters and are organisms carried by weather conditions from trees and plants.

The longer you leave them, the more difficult it’s going to be to remove black spots from your patio.

But how exactly do you go about banishing black spots on your patio so that they don’t come straight back? 

Black lichen is a stubborn organism that is designed to survive so it can’t be removed by scrubbing, with household cleaners, or with a power washer alone.

Luckily, Ted Bromley-Hall, from landscaping supplies manufacturer Ibran has one certain product that will eliminate these stains in just a short amount of time.

He explained: "We deal with thousands of tradespeople every month, who have faced similar issues in trying to clear black spots from paving and patios. 

“They all say the same thing: wearing gloves and goggles, using sodium hypochlorite at a 15 percent concentration, applied with a stiff brush.”

Sodium hypochlorite is what most know as bleach before it gets diluted so it’s far stronger.

To use sodium hypochlorite, all you need to do is apply it to the surface neat and then leave it to sit for 10 to 30 minutes before washing it away either with a pressure washer or hose.

Not only will it remove any lichen, but it will also help to clean the whole area of dirt and stains as well.

The one thing to bear in mind with sodium hypochlorite though is to avoid it coming into contact with your lawn or plants as it will kill your plants. If it does come into contact with plants, make sure to rinse thoroughly with lots of water.

To stop black spots from returning, apply this solution annually. This will kill any spores before they have the chance to germinate and will also prevent moss and gale growth.