Driveway Cleaning

A driveway cleaning routine is the best way to make your driveway stand out, year after year.

Glance around your neighbourhood!

It will quickly become apparent who takes pride in the appearance of their home and driveway, and who doesn’t.

Driveway cleaning

Regardless of whether your driveway has been laid with block paving, pattern imprinted concrete, gravel or resin bound stone, it will need to be regularly cleaned.

With the exception of gravel, the standard approach will be to sweep the area ensuring that all debris is removed.
Then to remove any moss that may have grown in gaps or on shady areas of your driveway.
And last, if a jet wash is available, give your driveway a good clean with it. (Read on for details on jet washing to avoid damaging your driveway).

If you don’t have a pressure washer check out our review here.

Driveway cleaning specific to:

Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveways

A few specifics apply to cleaning imprinted concrete surfaces, whether on a driveway, patio or pathway area.

The main textured finish (pattern) that causes most work is ‘deep joint cobble’. This is because the joints between the individual cobbles can collect lots of debris.

It’s recommended to scrape this from the gaps rather than trying to blast out with a power washer.

The last thing you want to do is remove any surface colour as this will leave grey concrete and aggregate exposed.

Oil spills

A detergent like washing up liquid can be used with water and a brush because imprinted concrete driveways are sealed.

It might be worth having your driveway re-sealed after the oil stain has been removed.

A re-seal is something that should be done every two years, or so, anyway.

How do you clean your concrete driveway? Tell us in the comments below.

Block Paving Driveway Cleaning

The look of a block paving driveway can really be improved by brushing off, jet washing and if necessary, scrubbing.

The main thing to look out for when cleaning a block paving driveway (if using a pressure washer) is not to use it too close to any mortar joints.

This is because if they get blasted out, gaps appear and these will have to be filled to prevent weeds from growing and your driveway from sinking.

Oil spills

Oil will penetrate the blocks easily so try to remove the oil as quickly as possible.
It’s a good idea to dab the area with paper towels or a cloth, rather than rubbing and spreading the oil.
Wash of with lots of water or use sand or cat litter to soak up the oil. Dispose of the sand safely.
For stubborn oil stains use a diluted detergent wash off with water. WARNING! This could damage your driveway so test a small area at the edge first.
Use an emulsifying degreaser if the oil stain is very, very stubborn.
Last resort replace the blocks, you will end up with a colour difference in the paving though.

An (unsightly) Block Paving Repair After Oil Spill

Resin Bound/Bonded Driveway Cleaning

Keeping a resin driveway clean is easy as should only require sweeping off and jet washing should only be done when needed. Care should be taken not to put the top of the jet wash gun too close to the surface of a resin bound/bonded. Some jet washes are very powerful and may lift part of the surface, so test a small area first and go easy!

Oil spills

Oil spills on a resin driveway can cause softening and degradation of the resin surface. Therefore clean up any oil spills quickly.

Absorb the oil with sand or cat litter
Remove and dispose of safely
Use a light detergent like washing up liquid, leave to soak, and wash off with a jet wash (don’t go to close so the surface)
Scrub the stain with a brush
Wash the detergent off with water
Power wash the driveway again

Gravel Driveway Cleaning

Sticks, leaves and litter end up on most driveways.

Raking your gravel driveway once a week, and removing the sticks, leaves and general debris will keep your driveway looking great.

When there are ruts in the surface of your gravel driveway puddles will appear. They bring up small dirt parts from between the gravel and these stay on the surface when the puddles dry up. You will end up with muddy gravel patches.

A solution is to remove the gravel and power wash it or simply replace with new gravel.

Oil spills

The easiest way to remove oil spills from your gravel driveway is to remove the affected gravel, and replace.

Don’t be tempted to move gravel from another part of your driveway to the affected area as this will result in weak spots on your driveway.

So it is better to buy a small bag of the same gravel and add that to your driveway.

How often do you clean your gravel driveway? Let us know in the comments below!

Finally, if you don’t have a pressure washer, the energy or just can’t be bothered get somebody in to do the ‘dirty work’ for you!

Find a professional local driveway cleaning service on our Directory.