Take a look at a greener way to tackle weeds

Take a look at a greener way to tackle weeds

Why hot water? Key benefits

Here are the main advantages:

• Environmentally friendly: Hot water doesn’t introduce toxic residues into soil or waterways. By using plain water heated to kill or damage weeds, the risk of chemical contamination is removed. 

• Safe for humans, pets and wildlife: Unlike many herbicides, no residual chemicals are left behind after treatment with hot water. That means less concern over accidental exposure for children, pets or other animals that may use the area later. 

• Residue-free: After the hot water treatment, the water evaporates or dissipates, and no chemical trace remains in the soil or on plants. This helps protect future plant growth and soil health. 

• Reduces risk of resistance: Over-use of chemical herbicides can lead to resistant weed populations. Hot water offers a non‐chemical mechanism of control, helping diversify methods and reduce dependence on herbicides. 

• Versatility of weed types: According to the page, hot water is effective against a range of weed types, including annuals, perennials and even some woody species. 

• Long-term cost benefit for large users: While the initial equipment cost may be higher, the ongoing cost (mainly energy to heat water) can be lower compared with repeatedly purchasing chemical herbicides. This makes it attractive for organizations such as local authorities, facilities-managers, retail parks, golf courses etc.

Who is this for?

This approach is well-suited to larger scale users such as:

• Local authorities

• Facilities management companies

• Parks and recreation departments

• Shopping centres

• Ground care companies

• Retail parks

• Golf courses

These are organisations that may have large areas of hard-landscaping, pavements, kerbs or green spaces where chemical use is restricted or undesirable.

Things to keep in mind

While the hot water method offers compelling benefits, there are a few considerations to be aware of (some implicit in the text or part of real-world context):

• Equipment cost: The page states that the initial setup cost may be higher than buying herbicides. The investment in hot-water generating and delivery equipment is non-trivial. 

• Energy use: Though ongoing costs may be lower, there is still energy required to heat the water. Evaluating the cost of fuel or electricity, and comparing with chemical costs, is important.

• Speed and labour: Depending on site size and labour availability, applying hot water might be more labour intensive (or slower) compared to spraying large areas with herbicide.

• Surface type & weed species: While hot water is said to work across a variety of weed types, in practice the specific effectiveness will depend on species, root depth, surface condition (pavement vs soil) etc.

• Operator safety: Using hot water at high temperatures means operator safety (burn risk, steam etc) must be well managed.

• Regulatory & environmental context: In some cases, chemical herbicide usage may be restricted, making alternative methods like this more attractive; in other cases, the site may allow chemicals and cost may favour them. So site-specific evaluation is needed.

Why this method matters now

In recent years, there has been growing scrutiny of chemical herbicides—both in terms of environmental impact (soil health, downstream water contamination) and human/animal health concerns. For organisations with public-facing sites (e.g., parks, retail precincts) the shift to more benign weed-control methods supports sustainability objectives and may align better with public perception and regulatory trends. The hot-water method helps organisations demonstrate commitment to green practices while still addressing practical maintenance needs.

Final take-aways

If you’re responsible for ground-maintenance, landscaping, or managing outdoor spaces and you’re looking for a method that supports sustainability, reduces chemical dependency and offers long-term benefits, then the hot-water weed control method described by Morclean is worth investigating. While the upfront investment and operational logistics need to be weighed, the environmental and health advantages make it a strong contender in the “greener weed control” field.

Read more on the Morclean Website, or contact us on 01246 471147 for more information.