Patio Jet Washing

Indian sandstone, limestone, riven concrete slabs, porcelain, York stone, granite setts and old crazy paving all behave differently under a pressure washer. Sandstone is soft enough to be scoured if the lance is held too close. Limestone marks easily with acidic products. Porcelain barely needs pressure at all, but it does need the right detergent to shift the greasy film that dulls it. Old concrete slabs with an exposed aggregate face will shed loose stone whatever you do, and that needs pointing out in advance rather than explaining afterwards.

We regularly clean:

Black spot lichen is the single most misunderstood problem on a patio. Those small, flat, tar-like dots are a living organism rooted into the surface pores of the stone, and no sensible amount of water pressure will remove them — you would erode the slab before you removed the spot. They need a specific chemical treatment, applied and left to work, and on badly affected patios a second application some weeks later.

Rust staining from garden furniture, iron pyrites naturally present in some sandstone, tannin staining from leaves and oil from a barbecue all behave similarly: they respond to the correct targeted product rather than more pressure. We will always tell you what we expect to shift completely, what we expect to lighten significantly, and what is likely to be permanent, before you commit to the work.

Efflorescence — that white, chalky bloom that appears on new paving — is a separate matter again. It is mineral salt migrating out of the bedding as the installation dries, and it typically continues to appear for the first year or two. Cleaning it off works, but it can return, and no honest cleaner will promise otherwise.

The pointing between slabs is what keeps water out of the bedding and stops weeds germinating in the gaps. On many patios it has already partly failed before we arrive, and washing simply reveals how little was holding it together. We will identify that at the quotation stage and, where the job calls for it, re-point with a suitable mortar or fill the joints with a modern brush-in jointing compound to leave the patio watertight and stable.

Once the surface is clean and the joints are sound, an impregnating sealant is a sensible investment on porous stone. It slows the absorption of water, wine, grease and leaf tannin, keeps the surface easier to sweep and mop, and can be supplied natural or colour-enhancing to give the stone that just-rained richness. Sealing requires the paving to be thoroughly dry, so it is usually carried out on a return visit rather than the same afternoon.

Between professional cleans, the simplest thing that helps is drainage and light. Keeping gutters clear so they are not discharging over the patio, cutting back overhanging growth to let sun and air reach the slabs, and sweeping leaves off in autumn rather than letting them rot in place will meaningfully extend how long the finish lasts.

A patio clean happens in the middle of somebody's garden, which is why we work the way we do. Borders and lawn edges are covered, planting close to the work is rinsed with clean water afterwards, run-off is directed away from beds and ponds where possible, and everything we move gets put back. Water and dirt get swept off paths and steps before we go rather than left to dry into a grey film.

We are local to Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath, fully insured, and the overwhelming majority of our patio work comes from neighbours recommending us to each other. That is exactly the standard we want to be held to.