Green weeds growing through cracks in old stone pavement. (Image: Getty)
As we move into the warmer months, many homeowners have begun focusing on their gardens, eager to prepare them for summer. For the majority, the initial task on the agenda is weeding.
This single chore can consume hours depending on which method you employ to remove unwanted moss, weeds, and leaves accumulated over winter.
However, one amateur gardener claims many people make it unnecessarily complex and waste money on chemical-laden products that don’t always deliver results.
In a TikTok video, user @tonylongworth revealed his technique – he simply boils the kettle and pours it across his patio, destroying the weeds in the process.
Following this, he merely waits a day or two after the three-minute procedure and returns to assess the results.
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He said: “You’ll see all of the weeds just dying off. Some of the stubborn ones, you’ll need to get some more water on them. But then just give it a good brush and there you go.”
Commenting on his post, one user said: “It does kill them, but they come back.”
Another user added: “Did the same. Spot on. Sprinkle loose salt on a hot day and gone for weeks.”
A third user said: “I just get a shovel dig it up pressure wash scrub with a broom and it’s good for weeks.”
One more user added: “Watering can full of white vinegar salt and bar carbonate of soda kills everything for six months.”
According to Weedingtech, any form of weed heat treatment must reach and sustain ‘kill zone’ temperatures (above 57°C) to effectively destroy the plant structure and enable efficient thermal heat transfer from the leaf to the root.
A statement reads: “Research shows that stable delivery of heat at 80°C for the first five seconds is crucial to ensuring the most effective plant kill.
“The challenge with boiling water for weed control is that it quickly loses heat to the atmosphere, reaching around 64°C at weed contact and quickly dropping out of the kill zone thereafter.
“While it typically wilts the foliage it comes into contact with, the rapid temperature loss impacts the thermal transfer to the root.
“This lower kill rate requires a higher number of treatment cycles, increasing treatment and labour costs.
“The efficacy of boiling water is further reduced in wet and windy weathers, causing downtime and impacting treatment schedules.”
While the addition of salt can boost its effectiveness, specialists caution that this may cause considerable harm to the soil and surrounding ecosystems within your garden.
