Professional Driveway & Patio Cleaning in Preston

Open ground, driven rain and damp air

Preston is flatter and more exposed than the east Lancashire towns, with damp air coming in off the Ribble estuary and the coastal plain. Around a metre of rain a year, and a lot of wind with it.

Drives here stay wet because the air is wet, not because a valley is shading them. The outcome is the same: a dark algae film across block paving and flags that is slippery as soon as it rains.

Moss takes hold in the joints afterwards, particularly on the shaded side of the house and anywhere water lies.

New estates mean block paving

Preston has more new housing than anywhere else we work, and that means a great deal of block paving at Cottam, Broughton, Ingol, Buckshaw and the developments north of the city.

Block paving is a straightforward clean with one condition: the jointing sand must be replaced afterwards. It is structural, and washing it out and leaving it out is the reason so many cleaned drives look poor two years later.

A lot of those estate drives are also quite light in colour, which makes the algae film far more obvious than it would be on a darker block.

Older stock: flags, tarmac and stone

Fulwood, Ashton, Penwortham and Longridge have more concrete and stone flags, more tarmac and more mature trees overhead.

Tarmac gets much lower pressure than people expect. Too much lifts the bitumen and leaves a loose pitted surface. Stone flags and their pointing want the lance kept off the joints entirely.

Trees bring leaf fall and tannin staining, which is not algae and does not respond the same way to treatment.

How we clean it

A rotary surface cleaner across the whole area, which keeps pressure and distance constant and gives an even finish. Lance work only for edges, corners and spot treatment.

Then the surface is treated to kill what is left in the joints and pores, then block paving is resanded with kiln-dried sand.

Gullies and channel drains are cleared before we leave, because a drive clean moves a lot of silt towards them.

Imprinted concrete: the one to be careful with

There is a lot of imprinted concrete on Preston drives from the 2000s boom. The pattern is in the concrete but the colour and the sealer are surface layers.

Cleaned too hard, it comes out patchy and grey and then needs resealing to look right, which costs more than the clean did. We clean it at low pressure and will talk to you about resealing if the existing sealer has already gone.

Oil and vehicle marks

Oil and diesel soak into block and concrete instead of sitting on top, so they need a degreaser and time rather than a bigger machine. Fresh spills usually clear completely. Old ones typically lighten rather than disappear.

Tyre rubber, scuffing and gum come off as part of the standard clean.

Frequency, sealing and cost

One to two years for most Preston drives, annually under trees or on the shaded side. Treating after the clean is what carries it through the winter.

Sealing sound block paving is worthwhile and lasts two to three years here. On a drive that is sinking or breaking up it is money wasted.

Fixed price in writing. Cheaper alongside the roof or render in one visit.