How to Pressure Clean Your Driveway
Pressure cleaning your driveway offers a multitude of significant benefits. Not only does it instantly boost the curb appeal of your home, but it also allows you to take immense pride in your property. By removing stubborn dirt, grime, and stains, pressure cleaning restores your driveway’s original beauty, making it look fresh and well-maintained.
DIY Pressure Cleaning
What’s even better is that you can accomplish this task yourself with a little guidance. Whether you’re tackling the project as a DIY enthusiast or simply want to save on professional cleaning services, pressure cleaning gives you the power to transform your driveway and enhance the overall aesthetics of your home. With a clean and inviting driveway, you’ll create a positive first impression on guests and neighbors, showcasing a well-cared-for property that reflects your dedication and pride of ownership. Experience the empowering benefits of pressure cleaning and discover the joy of a pristine driveway right at your fingertips.
A starting Point
We understand that there are various techniques and approaches to driveway pressure cleaning, and our intention is to provide you with a helpful starting point. It’s always crucial to prioritize safety and choose a method that works best for you while achieving the desired results. So, feel free to adapt and modify these steps according to your expertise. It’s important to note that the following steps serve as a guide only.
Things you’ll need:
- Professional-grade pressure washer
- Pressure washer gun and lance
- Pressure washer nozzle tips
- Pressure washer turbo nozzle
- Whipper Snipper or garden edger
- Heavy Duty Soap (Biodegradable Preferred)
- Safety Glasses
- Rubber boots (Gumboots)
- Long-sleeved shirt and pants
- Garden hose
- Stiff-bristle brush
Prioritize Safety – Before you begin, make sure that your attire offers the appropriate protection. Don a long-sleeved shirt and pants, rubber boots, and safety glasses to safeguard yourself from potential flying debris during the edging & pressure cleaning process.
Time to Soak Up the Sun and Unleash the Fun…
- It’s best to start by framing the edges of your driveway neatly, do this with a whipper snipper or edger, just like applying a picture frame around an image. It makes the driveway really pop when the job is finished.
- Give the driveway a thorough sweep with a broom or air blast with a blower to remove the grass and any loose dirt and debris.
- If you have any oil/grease stains or any other stuck on goop you can use a technique call ‘Acid Washing‘ to remove stains. Acid Washing uses Hydrochloric Acid to eat away the very top layer of the surface exposing the clean surface underneath. Be warned if not done correctly it will damage your driveway. *Only use this technique if your comfortable and have thoroughly learnt how to safely do an acid wash.
- Setup your pressure washer.
- Apply a heavy-duty soap to the entire driveway surface to eliminate deep-seated dirt/grime buildup, and to kill any spore producing organic growth such as moss, mould and algae. The best soaps are biodegradable and prevent organic growth for a year or so, perfect! If you decide to use harsh chemicals such as bleach ensure you hose down surround vegetation before spraying the chemicals. If if’s a windy day also consider watering your neighbours plants! You don’t want to unintentionally create a desert in yours or your neighbours front yard. Pre wetting plants creates a barrier on the leaves and stops the plants absorbing the chemical. *Mix the cleaning solution as per the manufacturer’s instructions if you choose to use a cleaning solution.
- Use a high-pressure lance and Turbo Nozzle (aka powerhead) ( A 25deg or 40deg Tip also works just fine) to meticulously clean the edges and expansion joints of the driveway. Also clean any little nooks and cranny’s that may exist around your driveway, if your really eager give the letter box a quick spray.
- Now the soap has been sitting for a while doing it’s thing, take a stiff-bristle brush and scrub any areas that require it. Oil stains and paint are the usual culprits!
- Helicopter time! Utilizing the rotary cleaner (Surface Cleaner), thoroughly clean all large flat areas of the driveway. Do the entire driveway in one direction, then do it again in the other direction, a chess board pattern. Also Overlap your passes a little bit each time. Using this technique will eliminate the stripe effect that rotary cleaners are known for. (Note – Normally you start at the up hill side of your driveway as the dirty water will all flow downhill, right. Well if you have a low point where the dirty water will damn up, do this area first! The rotary cleaner will bog down in the dam and not work).
- This is the magic. Use the rotary clean to clean the curb of the property. For residential blocks we usually clean the curb for the entire width of the block. Usually about 20-30m. It’s very fast and makes the driveway look like someone who knows what they’re doing took care of it!!
- Put the lance back on with a 40deg tip and wash off the entire driveway and curb. If you did a good job the driveway should look pretty good already! If you have striping or missed spots clean them with the Turbo Nozzle (power head) or reconnect the rotary cleaner and fix it up.
- Inspect the roller door. If I only has light dirt wash it with the pressure washer and 40deg Tip. If it has oxidation and it probably will, use a water broom, or a clean broom and water hose to give it a quick clean. *If the roller door has oxidation and you wash it with a lance and 40deg tip lines will appear when it dries.
- Finally, use the hose to wash down whatever was splashed with dirty water. Don’t pressure-wash things for this step—you’ll just make more of a mess!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I sincerely hope that you found it both informative and engaging. For more valuable content, I invite you to visit the blog page on my website at www.pressurewashed.com.au
