Professional Driveway & Patio Cleaning in Lancashire

Why Lancashire drives go green and slippery

A driveway is a flat, damp, textured surface that sits in shade for part of every day. In a county that takes between one and one and a half metres of rain a year, that is a guaranteed algae problem.

The black film that builds up on block paving and flags is not dirt. It is algae, and when it is wet it is genuinely slippery. Most of the calls we get about drives in winter are not about how they look, they are because somebody has nearly gone over on one.

Moss is the other half. It roots in the joints between blocks and flags, holds water, widens the joint and eventually lifts the edges.

The surfaces we clean, and what each one needs

Block paving is the most common and the most straightforward, with one critical extra step: the jointing sand has to be replaced afterwards, which a lot of contractors skip.

Indian stone and concrete flags clean up well but the pointing between them can be fragile, so the lance is kept off the joints. Imprinted concrete is the one that needs real care, because the colour and the sealer sit on the surface and aggressive cleaning takes both off.

Tarmac is cleaned at much lower pressure than people expect, because high pressure lifts the bitumen and leaves a pitted, loose surface. Resin-bound drives need gentler treatment again.

Rotary surface cleaner, not a lance waved about

We clean drives with a rotary surface cleaner rather than a hand lance. It holds a consistent distance and pressure across the whole surface, so you get an even finish instead of the stripes and zebra patterning you see on half the drives in Lancashire.

Lance work has its place, in corners, against edges and on stubborn spots, but doing a whole drive with one is how you end up with a permanently striped surface and blown pointing.

It is also considerably quicker, which keeps the price sensible.

Resanding: the step that decides how long it lasts

Cleaning block paving washes the jointing sand out. That sand is structural. It is what stops the blocks moving, rocking and eventually sinking, and without it the joints just fill with moss and weed seed again within a season.

Every block paved drive we clean is re-sanded with kiln-dried sand, brushed in and vibrated or settled properly. It is included, not an upsell.

If a quote for cleaning block paving does not mention resanding, ask about it, because the drive will look worse in twelve months than it did before.

Weeds, moss and the joints

Weeds in a drive are growing in the joint material, not up through the blocks. Pull them out and the seed bank is still there, so they come back.

We treat the surface after cleaning, which kills what is left in the joints and slows the regrowth considerably. Combined with fresh kiln-dried sand it makes a real difference to how the drive looks a year later.

Perennial weeds with deep roots through a failed sub-base are a different problem and no amount of cleaning fixes them. We will say so.

Oil, tyre marks and the things that do not just wash off

Oil and diesel soak into block paving and concrete rather than sitting on top, so they need a degreaser and dwell time rather than more pressure. Old, deep stains sometimes lighten rather than disappear, and we would rather tell you that upfront.

Tyre scuff, rubber and chewing gum come off as part of the job. Red diesel and some paint spills do not, fully.

Sealing, and whether it is worth it

Sealing block paving after cleaning and resanding stabilises the joints, slows moss regrowth and makes the next clean easier. On a drive in good condition it is worth doing and it typically lasts two to three years in this climate.

It is not a fix for a failing drive. If the blocks are sinking, the edges have gone or the sub-base has failed, sealing it just makes a tidy-looking failing drive.

We will give you a straight view on whether yours is worth sealing rather than selling it to everyone.

Cost, frequency and drainage

Price is driven by area, surface type, how bad the growth is and whether it needs resanding and sealing. Gullies and channels get cleared as part of the job, because there is no sense washing silt straight into a blocked drain.

Most Lancashire drives want doing every one to two years. Shaded ones under trees are annual. Fixed price in writing before we start. See driveway cleaning for the full method or pressure washing for other hard surfaces.