What should I look for when pressure cleaning my driveway?

Before starting the task of cleaning a driveway it may be a good idea to consult with a professional about what chemical ratios should be used and how often the exterior car surface should be cleaned.

Ideally a mixture of bleach and soaps are the best solution to loosening the organics from the driveways surface. The Chlorine or bleach in this case works systematically to kill anything organic. Be careful when using as improper use can cause skin burns and the fumes can cause lung damage and will lead to an uneasy feeling after the job is completed. For this we recommend spraying the cleaning solution with a pump up sprayer of about 2 gals on the surface before applying any pressure.

While the chlorine attacks the bacteria the soap helps in allowing the bleach to eat at the mold or mildew. It is best to use professional surfactants instead of your normal dawn dish soap as when mixed together causes a deadly gas. 

After allowing the proper dwell time to take effect in killing off the dirt and mildew driveway of about 15mins. It is time to break out the pressure washer to power out the dirt out the pores. 

Plug in your water source, prepare your tools and turn on the machine. 
You want to make sure you clean evenly and make sure to not miss any spots. There is nothing worse then finishing up your work and load up the machine just to find out you missed a spot. 
Always check your work. A surface cleaner or also called a hover brush may be very beneficial in completing your work in a timely even manner.

Next you want to rinse off any excess dirt left on the driveway and again check your work.
If needed apply a final coat of chemical to the driveway that was cleaned. This acts as a final layer of clean to kill off any residual bacteria and avoid any clean streaks.

Clean streaks in the pressure cleaning industry refers to the leftover streaks made from the cleaning process itself. Clean streaks occur when you clean over the same areas more than once. Think of it as cleaning one side once and another side twice. The side of the driveway that was cleaned twice will most likely appear cleaner and brighter. The solution to this is the cleaning chemicals themselves to be applied as the last step and allow all the time it needs to dissolve with the driveways surface.

By the next day you will have a bright driveway to enjoy for months to come and depending on weather years.

 Although pressure cleaning refers to the cleaning of the surface, cleaning only with water is not cleaning at all. The tiny bacteria particles are still in the driveways pores painted, concrete or pavers. The proper method of cleaning is a combination of pressure and chemicals to remove and kill the dirt embedded. Leaving a short lived clean that will have to be repeated continuously throughout the year.

In conclusion the best method of cleaning and sanitizing a driveway in south florida is a combination of water pressure and biodegradable chemicals and surfactants.

For more information feel free to visit our blog page for pressure cleaning tips and tricks.