When you have a blacktop driveway, you want to make sure that you take good care of it. It can last you for a good many years, as long as you do some easy maintenance tasks like the following.
Keep It Clean
This doesn't mean you need to go out and sweep up your driveway every day to make sure that there is no debris of any kind on your driveway. Instead, what you are looking to do is to keep gas, oil, and grease off of your driveway. Asphalt, also known as bitumen, is a petroleum product, just like the gas, diesel, or oil in your car. Those things can break down the asphalt of your driveway and start causing cracks to happen. What you want to do is to make sure that you get rid of any puddles or keep that kind of residue off your driveway. One way you can do that is to absorb any large puddles before they can start to affect your driveway. You can do that with clay cat litter or products like sawdust or wood shavings. Just put the products down on the puddle and then sweep them up when the gas or oil has been absorbed and dispose of them properly. You can also use a mixture of detergent and water with a broom with stiff bristles to scrub the area or your entire driveway. The detergent will cut the gas and oil and wash it away.
Fix the Cracks
If you have cracks in your driveway, you want to start getting them repaired as soon as possible. That's because all cracks start out small and turn into bigger cracks due to exposure, the freeze/thaw cycle, and wear and tear. If you repair a crack as soon as you notice it, then you aren't going to have to end up spending a lot of money to do some major repairs on your driveway. There are crack repair products that you can use on your own to fix the crack. They generally tend to be pretty easy to use and will let you repair the cracks and keep your driveway in good shape a little longer.
If you are worried about your driveway and want to make sure that it looks as good as it can for as long as possible, then you may want to have an asphalt contractor from a company like Watkins & Sons Paving come out and evaluate your driveway for you.