Patios and driveways form an important part of the external look of your home. High pressure cleaning them is an important requirement after a few years of exposure to erosive elements.

Although regular maintenance with scrapers and blowers may prolong the time between consecutive pressure cleaning, they are inevitably required in order to make your property look like brand new. Although considered as a low maintenance invention, in time your paver or driveway will give way to moss, mud, tire skid-marks and even efflorescence.

Pressure cleaning driveways and patio pavers requires some equipment. A pressure pump, a set of nozzles and detergent are the minimum. Hence it is best advised to hire professionals to execute the task of pressure cleaning perfectly. Incorrect pressure while spraying can destroy the surface of your bricks and ruin them forever. Still, it is a good recreational activity if you know what to do. For that, refer to the following list and start spraying…

Relocate all pots, plants and furniture from your driveway or patio. Any dirt or debris left below these will stay and deteriorate the patio further. Use a leaf blower and scraper to remove any leaf or lump of clay or solidified deposits along with leaves.

After correctly setting up your pressure washer, i.e. connect the transmission pipe to the nozzle and set the correct pressure for the pump, go through the kind of cleaning solution your patios are designed to be cleaned with. You can consult a house washing expert if you deem fit. Always wear safety goggles while working with pressurized systems.

Patios and bricks absorb water. So it is important to soak them with water properly before any application of cleaner. Use a low pressure setting and stand a few feet back to further reduce the effective pressure of application. Unless soaked, the brick will absorb the cleaning solvent or detergent, ultimately ruining it.

Next, apply the detergent or cleaning solvent in identifiable sections and let it work for 5-10 minutes. Look for sections that are drying out. Re-application is needed in those areas. The best approach to pressure clean a patio is to use low pressure spray with more detergent.

After the detergent has done its work, switch to a low pressure delicate nozzle and flush any remaining detergent from the system. Cover two or three rows of bricks at a time, and slowly flush off the cleaner solvent from the surface. Multiple passes may be required for deeply stained spots.

After the brick has dried, if you find any white efflorescence, you may have to remove that by hand. Use an efflorescence remover solution and scrub by hand. Refer to manufacturer’s recommendations. Do not use pressure washers to apply the efflorescence removal solution. Additional water applied to the surface can sometimes cause more harm than good!

After this, simply rinse with a spray of water. That’s it! Proper high pressure cleaning can not only make your pavers last a lifetime, they can also preserve the up-market look of your property increasing its value overnight.