One kitchen staple could banish problem weeds from your gravel paths and driveways ‘almost instantly’, as gardening fans say it works ‘better’ than white vinegar
The key to banishing weeds could be sitting on your kitchen counter right now.
If you’ve got a gravel path in your garden or even a gravel driveway, you’ll know how annoying it can be to see weeds crop up between the tiny stones. Getting them out can be a pain, but leaving them to their own devices can mean your entire path is soon completely taken over by the problem plants.
But thankfully, gardening fans have come up with a solution that works “better” than white vinegar and kills weeds “almost instantly”. What’s more, the hack only requires one product that you probably already have in your kitchen.
The trick was shared by members of the Gardening Hints and Tips group on Facebook, after one person asked for better alternatives to weed killing than white vinegar and salt, as they were having trouble tackling weeds on their drive. The person asked: “I’ve seen lots of posts lately about the use of white vinegar and salt for weed killing.
“I have a gravel-covered drive and can’t seem to keep the weeds in check, even using the recommended weed killer for paths. Would they work on the drive or is there something better? There are no other plants in the vicinity and it’s not like I would be planting anything on the drive in future.”
Group members were quick to offer their advice to the poster, and while many said white vinegar and salt would both “work well”, they did say there was something better – washing powder.
One person wrote: “I used to use salt on my alleyway and it works, but washing powder was better for me.” While another added: “I had success with some cheap soap powder and boiling water.” A third praised the speed of washing powder, as they stated: “Laundry powders are amazing on gravel weeds. You can see the results almost instantly.”
If you use washing powder on your laundry then you’ll have this product at home already, but if you use pods or a liquid detergent you’ll need to pick up some of the powdered variety. You can add this to your trolley while doing your weekly shop at any supermarket for as little as £3, but if you want it delivered to your door, you can pick up a huge 6.5kg box of Surf from Amazon for £14. Alternatively, the cheapest product we found on Amazon was a 400g box of ACDO Miracle Washing Powder for £2.50.
The washing powder trick is also backed by experts, as gardening guru Tom Clifford from Gardenstone once told Ideal Home: “Strong chemical weed killers, although effective, can often be harmful to your patio surface, especially if it’s made from delicate stone. Washing powder offers a gentler option that shouldn’t harm your patio surface but will effectively kill weeds. In addition, washing powder is a regular household object, making it much more accessible and affordable than chemical weed killers.”
Washing powder contains boron, which is toxic to plants, so kills weeds effectively. However, this means you should only use the product in an area with no other plants, as you risk accidentally damaging or killing plants you want to keep. To use washing powder on weeds, simply sprinkle the powder onto the gravel or patio gaps, and then pour boiling water over it.
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