Professional Driveway & Patio Cleaning in Rossendale

Rain, shade and slope

Rossendale takes well over a metre of rain a year and the valley sides keep the sun off for months. A driveway here is wet far more of the time than one out on the plain.

Add slope to that. A great many drives in Haslingden, Waterfoot, Rawtenstall and Bacup run up or down at a decent angle, and a sloping drive with algae on it in January is genuinely dangerous rather than just unsightly.

That is the main reason people ring us in winter, and it is the reason we treat the surface after cleaning rather than just washing it and leaving.

Steep drives and the slip problem

On a level drive, algae is unpleasant. On a one in six slope it is a hazard, especially for anyone carrying shopping or getting out of a car in the dark.

Cleaning removes the film. The treatment afterwards is what keeps it off through the following winter, and on steep valley drives it is the part that actually matters.

We will also look at where the water is going. A lot of slippery drives in the valley are slippery because water is running across them from somewhere it should not be.

Stone flags, setts and block paving

The valley has a lot of stone. Original stone flags and setts on older properties clean up beautifully but must not be blasted, because the surface and the lime pointing will not take it.

Block paving on the newer estates around Rawtenstall and Helmshore is the standard job: clean with a rotary surface cleaner, treat, then resand with kiln-dried sand.

Concrete flags and tarmac make up most of the rest. Tarmac gets much lower pressure than people expect, because too much lifts the bitumen and leaves it loose and pitted.

Resanding, and why it is not optional

Washing block paving takes the jointing sand out. That sand holds the blocks against each other. Without it they rock, shift and let water down into the sub-base, and on a sloping valley drive that is how you get blocks migrating downhill.

Every block drive we clean is resanded with kiln-dried sand as part of the job. If somebody quotes you cheaper and does not mention it, that is why.

Moss in the joints, and what actually kills it

In this valley, moss in the joints comes back faster than anywhere else we work. Scraping and washing it out does nothing about the spores in the joint material.

The drive is treated after cleaning, which kills what is left and slows regrowth substantially. Fresh sand on top of a treated joint is a much better starting position than fresh sand on a contaminated one.

Gullies, channels and where the silt goes

Most valley properties rely on a gully or a channel drain to take surface water off the drive, and on a slope they clog quickly with grit washed down from above.

We clear gullies and channels as part of the job. Washing a drive and leaving the silt in the drain is how you end up with water tracking across the surface all winter, which puts you right back where you started.

How often and what it costs

Annual for most Rossendale drives, given the rainfall and the shade. Treated drives hold up noticeably better through the winter than untreated ones.

Price depends on area, surface, severity and whether it needs resanding or sealing. Fixed price in writing before we start.

If the roof is being done at the same time, the drive is cheaper added to that visit, and it wants washing down after a roof clean anyway. See also gutter cleaning in Rossendale.