Simple answer is yes. There are two types of patio cleaners, they either contain Sodium Hypochlorite or a Biocide like BAC50.
The first type Sodium Hypochlorite based will kill/remove green algae, black spot, lichen and red algae and all organic growth on your paving, usually within a hour.
Simply either pressure wash your patio to remove loose dirt and debris or sweep with a brush.
Apply with watering can, garden pump up sprayer or brush and bucket. Leave it to dwell on the surface of your patio/paving, wait around one hour.
It takes around one hour to oxidise the black spot and algae. But you can start to see results within minutes. Then simply rinse.
Shark Instant Clean is without a doubt the best product to clean and remove black spots from your patio, they're biodegradable, pet and child safe once dry.
The second type of patio cleaner is a biocidal treatment most if which contain BAC50. These type of patio cleaners are great at removing algae and organic growth but will not remove Black spots.
Simply apply to the surface you are cleaning via a watering can, garden pump up sprayer or brush and bucket and just leave it to dry. There is no need to scrub or rinse. Its not a instant clean it starts to work straight away but will clean over the next few days/weeks.
Examples of this type of product are Wet and Forget, Patio Magic and our very own Stay Clean. These are great maintenance products, simply apply once a year and leave the product to do the cleaning.
All of these products contain the same type of ingredient but are different.
Take our product Stay Clean it is ten times stronger than Patio Magic so when you buy Patio Magic you get 5Litres of product however when you buy Stay Clean it is so highly concentrated that when you buy 5Litres it can be mixed with 10Litres of water to every litre of Stay Clean meaning you get 50Litres of products which is a massive cost saving to you and it means less packaging which is better for the environment.
Stay Clean is biodegradable, child and pet safe once dry, it has no shelf life so never goes out of date.
So if you want to remove black spot/algae within one hour use Instant Clean.
If you don't have black spot and just want to remove algae and organic growth Stay Clean is the best choice, simply apply and leave.
Here is a great guide to help you decide the best method for you: How to clean your patio.