Cleaning fan's 'instant' hack to banish patio weeds using just two household items
Cleaning fan Chantel Mila, known as Mama Mila on TikTok, has shared some of the simple home hacks 'you wish you knew sooner'
A cleaning enthusiast has revealed her secret to eliminating pesky and unsightly weeds around their patio. Chantel Mila, better known as Mama Mila on TikTok, shared some of the simplest home hacks 'you wished you'd known sooner.'
In a recent video, Chantel unveiled her homemade remedy for tackling stubborn patio weeds without the need for store-bought weed killers. It only requires two ingredients, both of which you're likely to have in your kitchen.
The star ingredient? Vinegar. In a spray bottle, combine one cup of white vinegar with one tablespoon of dish soap. Once mixed, spritz the solution over any weeds poking through your patio.
Vinegar is a powerful liquid that can effectively kill weeds, making them easy to remove. Better Homes & Gardens explained that a vinegar-based solution works best on smaller, annual weeds.
Ensure that the solution is generously applied to the weeds so that the roots absorb the vinegar.
Vinegar can be an effective home remedy due to its acidic properties. It contains acetic acid, which acts as a herbicide.
Acetic acid breaks down the cell walls of the weed, causing them to dry out and eventually die. Vinegar will harm any plant it touches, and it has no residual effect on the soil, so new weeds can still emerge.
When combined with vinegar, dish soap acts as a surfactant, aiding in weed killing. This means it helps the solution adhere to the weed's leaves, allowing the vinegar and salt to penetrate and dry out the plant.
To tackle this issue more effectively, you might need a specialized chemical solution. The Spruce suggests applying the solution either in the morning or evening, but not during the peak heat of the day, as it could dry out before it has the opportunity to work.
When dealing with perennial weeds, such as dandelions, using a weed puller might be more efficient as it removes the entire plant, including the root, from the ground.
However, BHG cautions that these types of solutions only kill the tops of weeds, leaving the roots intact to sprout new growth. While some experts suggest adding salt to the solution, BHG's experts warn that a weed killer solution can accumulate in the soil and damage it, preventing anything else from growing in that area.
