Bringing a Tired Driveway and Patio Back to Life
Cleaning at the right pressure, sealing, and knowing when a surface needs replacing instead.
Driveways and patios take a lot of punishment: tyres, oil, leaves, moss and every wet winter. Most of the time a surface that looks tired is not worn out at all, just dirty, and the right clean can bring it back. The trick is knowing when cleaning is enough, when sealing is worth it, and when it is time to start again.
Cleaning at the right pressure
Pressure washing is not a case of the stronger the better. Too much pressure can dislodge fragments from the surface, open up joints and leave gaps where water collects, then freezes and loosens the surface further. A company offering driveway cleaning in Sheffield will set the pressure and cleaning fluids for each surface and each type of stain, rather than blasting everything the same way.
Surface by surface
- Block paving: cleaned, re-sanded to stabilise the joints, then sealed to slow down staining and weeds
- Imprinted concrete: cleaned and resealed, usually every two to five years, to bring back its colour and sheen
- Tarmac: washed carefully, with oil and fuel spills dealt with quickly
- Natural stone: cleaned gently at the joints if they are in good condition, or cleared out ready for fresh jointing if not
A resin driveway needs less than most: brushing off leaves and debris, and a jet wash every now and then. Spills such as brake fluid should be rinsed off straight away with warm water.
Patios need a slightly different approach
A slab patio has far more joints than a driveway, so the cleaning has to protect them. If the pointing is sound, the joints get a gentler clean; if it is crumbling, the old jointing is removed so new pointing has a good base. Moss and algae also make patios slippery in shaded spots, which is one of the best reasons to clean them before summer.
Clean, repair or replace?
- Clean: the surface is sound but stained, green or dull.
- Repair: a few blocks or slabs have sunk or cracked, but the rest is level.
- Replace: the surface has dipped, puddles form after rain, or weeds come through everywhere, which usually means the base underneath has failed.
When a patio is sinking and cracked across the board, no amount of cleaning will fix it. In that case a new patio laid on a properly prepared sub-base, with a slight fall away from the house, is the better long-term spend.
A good clean is one of the cheapest ways to improve how a home looks from the street. For more on exterior and interior cleaning services, see our cleaning services category.
