My brick patio looked like a disaster zone last weekend. Weird black stains everywhere, probably from mold or who-knows-what. Regular scrubbing with a brush felt like I was punishing my back more than the bricks. Figured there had to be a less painful way.

The Lightbulb Moment (and Raiding My Garage)

Got tired of hurting my back and decided to build something. Wandered into my garage hoping for inspiration. Saw an old plastic storage bin – the sturdy kind with a blue lid. "That could be the tank," I thought. Found some leftover PVC pipes from an old plumbing attempt under the workbench. Scavenged a couple of cheap battery-powered aquarium pumps from a failed fish tank project years ago. Already had a drill, some basic tubing, and a handful of spray nozzles meant for a garden mister kit. Pieces were coming together.

Making FrankenCleaner, Version 1

First, I drilled holes into the PVC pipe – spaced them out roughly every 4 inches. Not pretty, but holes are holes. Then, I stuck the little spray nozzles into those holes. Lots of fiddling to get them kinda tight; ended up wrapping some plumbing tape around their bases to stop leaks. Connected one end of the pipe to the aquarium pumps using the flexible tubing. Dropped the pumps into the blue bin. Filled the bin about halfway with water and dumped in a generous glug of dish soap – no fancy chemicals here. Slapped the lid on the bin and cut a hole for the PVC pipe to poke through. Taped everything down with way too much duct tape. It looked like a toddler designed it.

First Test? Epic Leak Fest. Turned on the pumps. Water sprayed... mostly from all the spots that weren't the nozzles. Tubes popped off the pumps. Water splashed out around the lid. It was a watery mess on the garage floor. Shut it down fast. Felt pretty dumb.

Taming the Leaks (Version 2)

Time for damage control. Emptied the bin. Got serious about sealing:

• Used way more plumbing tape on every single nozzle thread and pump connection.
• Smeared thick silicone sealant around the nozzles where they met the PVC pipe and around the pipe where it went through the lid. Let it cure overnight, smelling up the garage.
• Found some heavy rubber bands and cranked them over the tubing connections on the pumps for extra hold.
• Even duct-taped the lid onto the bin like it was holding together a sinking ship.

Round Two: Less Mess, More Success!

Next afternoon, crossed my fingers and filled the bin again – less water this time. Added the soap. Turned it on. A miracle! Water sprayed mostly out of the nozzles in decent little streams. Still a few small drips, but nothing a towel underneath couldn't handle. Hauled it outside to my test brick – a particularly gross one covered in black gunk.

Laid the PVC pipe spray bar right on the brick. Let it sit for about 5 minutes while the little pumps kept spraying soapy water onto the stain. Picked up the pipe and... holy cow, the stain just wiped off with a rag! No scrubbing! Tried it on a few more stains. Even tough ones started dissolving with just a bit more soaking time. My stupid-looking contraption actually worked!

Final Result: Simple & Satisfying

This thing is definitely not winning any design awards. But for zero dollars spent and about two hours of messing around (mostly fixing leaks!), it saved my back and my bricks. The best part? Knowing exactly what's in the water (just soap!) so I’m not dumping harsh stuff on my patio. The aquarium pumps are weak, so it takes a few minutes per brick, but since I can just leave it spraying while I sip my coffee, who cares? Big win for lazy DIY today.