The Arizona paver maintenance schedule — keep them looking new for 30 years.

Weekly (5 minutes)

• Sweep or blow off leaves, palm debris, and dust before it stains or holds moisture.
• Pick up any pet waste, fertilizer spills, or grill drips immediately.
• Pull weeds while they're small — established weeds with deep roots pull joint sand out with them.

Monthly

• Rinse the patio or driveway with a garden hose. More often near pools, irrigation overspray, or under trees.
• Spot-treat oil, grease, food, wine, rust, and pet stains. Fresh stains lift; old stains soak in.
• After dust storms or monsoons: rinse and check for joint sand washout in low spots.

Annually

• Move planters, pots, BBQs, and furniture; clean underneath to prevent permanent shadow staining.
• Walk the perimeter — look for sinking, rocking, or shifting pavers. Single-paver resets are quick if caught early.
• Inspect edge restraints (the plastic or concrete band holding pavers in place at the perimeter). Failed edge restraint = pavers spread out over time.
• Check that drainage still flows away from the house. Settled areas pool water and accelerate joint sand washout.

Every 3–5 years — Seal

The most under-appreciated maintenance step. Sealing protects color, blocks stains, and reduces efflorescence.

• Pool decks, driveways, full-sun patios: every 3 years.
• Covered or shaded patios: every 5 years.
• Always clean thoroughly and let pavers fully dry before sealing — sealing in dirt or moisture is permanent.
• Choose penetrating sealer (no color change) or film-forming sealer (enriches color, slight sheen).
• AE uses Belgard- and SRW-matched sealers paired to your paver and finish.

Every 5–8 years (3–5 on driveways) — Refresh polymeric joint sand

This is the most-missed step in Arizona paver maintenance. Sand wears down — and once it's gone, pavers shift, weeds appear, and ants colonize.

• Signs it's time: gaps between pavers, sand sitting 1/8" below the chamfer, recurring weeds, ant nests.
• DIY-able with bagged polymeric sand and a careful watering process — but timing matters.
• We recommend pairing the sand refresh with a clean + seal visit. One trip, three jobs, one bill.
• Driveways and pool decks need refreshes sooner because of vehicle traffic, splash-out, and equipment wash-down.

Every 10–15 years — Inspect base and edge restraints

• Even perfect installs settle slightly over a decade. A spot-check from a paver pro catches small issues before they become repairs.
• Replace any failed edge restraint — it's the cheapest paver repair there is.
• Reset any pavers that have shifted more than 1/4".

DIY vs. call AE — honest split

• DIY: weekly sweeping, monthly rinse, spot stain removal, small-area sand top-ups in good-condition joints.
• Borderline: full-patio cleaning (rentable pressure washer with the right tip and pressure), small sealing projects on shaded patios.
• Call AE: full clean + sand refresh + seal as a package, any sinking/rocking pavers, recurring efflorescence, driveways and pool decks, anything over 400–500 sq ft.
• We're happy to walk you through DIY on the phone if your install is small and in good shape — we'd rather earn your trust than upsell you on a service you don't need.

What to avoid

• Pressure washing above ~1,500 PSI or with a zero-degree tip — blasts joint sand out.
• Acidic cleaners (muriatic acid) on concrete pavers — they etch the surface.
• Wire brushes and metal scrapers — scratch the cement skin off the paver.
• Sealing over visible stains, efflorescence, or moisture — you lock them in permanently.
• Regular masonry sand in the joints — it washes out and doesn't bind. Always use polymeric.
• Driving heavy equipment, trailers, or dumpsters across patio-spec pavers.