Pressure Washing
Pressure Washing near you
In most countries pressure washing is a question about the surface. In Australia it is first a question about the water, because whether you may use mains water to clean a driveway at all depends on which city you are in and what the rules say this year.
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Sydney and Melbourne start from opposite ends. Sydney Water's Water Wise Guidelines state that cleaning hard surfaces like paths, driveways, concrete or other paved areas with water is not permitted unless necessary for safety, health or emergency reasons, construction activity or surface contamination, but that you are permitted to use drinking water at any time to wash building structures, including windows, walls, gutters and roofing, using a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle unless it is supplying high-pressure water cleaning equipment. Melbourne's permanent water saving rules say water must not be used to clean hard surfaces such as concrete, paths and driveways at all, with exemptions only for an accident, fire, health hazard, safety hazard or other emergency, for surface staining and then only once a season, or in the course of construction or renovation.
Melbourne goes further and specifies the machine. Where an exemption applies, the permitted method is a high pressure water cleaning device or, if one is not available, a hand-held hose or a bucket, and the rate of delivery of that device must be 9 litres per minute or less. Those rules change with drought conditions, so check your own water authority before booking.
Whether you are allowed to use the water at all
- Sydney Water: cleaning hard surfaces like paths, driveways, concrete or other paved areas with water is not permitted unless necessary for safety, health or emergency reasons, construction activity or surface contamination.
- Sydney Water: you are permitted to use drinking water at any time to wash building structures, including windows, walls, gutters and roofing.
- Sydney Water: a hose must be fitted with a trigger nozzle unless it is being used to supply high-pressure water cleaning equipment, and hoses and taps must never be left running unattended.
- Melbourne's permanent water saving rules: water must not be used to clean hard surfaces such as concrete, paths and driveways.
- Melbourne exemptions: cleaning required as a result of an accident, fire, health hazard, safety hazard or other emergency; staining that has developed on the surface, and then only once a season; or in the course of construction or renovation.
- Melbourne method rule: where an exemption applies, use a high pressure water cleaning device, or a hand-held hose or bucket if such a device is not available.
- Melbourne device rule: the rate of delivery of a high pressure water cleaner must be 9 litres per minute or less.
- Rules are set by water authorities and change with drought stage, so check your own authority's current position rather than relying on what was true last summer.
What people actually want pressure washed
- Concrete driveways, paths and crossovers, which are the classic job and the one most affected by hard-surface water rules.
- Paving, whether clay pavers, concrete pavers or bluestone, where the joints are as much the job as the surface.
- Exposed aggregate and stencilled or coloured concrete, which are considerably more fragile than plain concrete.
- Timber and composite decking, which needs a fraction of the pressure and a wide fan, and is very easy to ruin.
- Rendered and painted walls, where pressure will remove the coating along with the grime if it is not controlled.
- Outdoor furniture, fences and retaining walls.
- Pool surrounds, which are often the surface where slipperiness rather than appearance is the real motive.
- Shade sails, which need low pressure and the right detergent rather than force.
Surfaces that should never meet a pressure washer
The absolute prohibition in Australia is asbestos cement. SafeWork NSW's safety alert is unambiguous: never use high-pressure water or compressed air on asbestos products. When high pressure water is used to clean asbestos roofs it can cause widespread asbestos contamination, which may lead to inhalation of asbestos fibres, and SafeWork NSW notes that high-pressure cleaning asbestos roofs affects not only the property being cleaned but neighbouring properties as well. Australian guidance is that many houses built before 1990 contain asbestos cement materials, especially in the eaves, internal and external wall cladding, ceilings in wet areas such as bathrooms and laundries, and fences.
That means the pre-1990 house has a list of surfaces a pressure washer must not touch: fibro cladding, fibro fences, eave sheeting and any cement roof sheet. If the age of the material is uncertain, the safe assumption is that it may contain asbestos until somebody qualified says otherwise. Roof work of this kind is covered in the roof cleaning guide.
Beyond asbestos, the surfaces that commonly get damaged are softer than people assume. Timber decking fibres tear and furr under high pressure. Exposed aggregate loses its matrix and the stones come loose. Mortar joints in brickwork and paving blow out. Render and paint lift. Sandstone and soft bricks erode. On all of these the answer is detergent, dwell time and the widest fan at the lowest pressure that works, not force.
How a pressure washing job should run
- Confirm the water rules that apply at your address and at the current restriction stage before the booking is made.
- Identify the surface and its age, and specifically rule out any asbestos cement before anything is switched on.
- Protect what should not get wet: garden beds, power points, light fittings, vents, door seals and anything with a cavity behind it.
- Pre-treat with a suitable detergent and give it dwell time, which does most of the work that people think pressure is doing.
- Use the widest fan and the lowest effective pressure, testing in an inconspicuous area first.
- Work in consistent overlapping passes so there are no stripes, which is the most common visible defect on concrete.
- Manage where the runoff goes, keeping it out of stormwater entries where practicable.
- Rinse down and check the result wet and dry, since concrete looks very different once it has dried.
What goes wrong with high pressure water
- Zebra striping on concrete where passes were not overlapped evenly, which is permanent in appearance terms until the whole slab is redone.
- Furring and splintering on timber decks, which raises the grain and makes the surface rougher than before.
- Loss of jointing sand from paving, which destabilises the pavers and needs re-sanding.
- Blown mortar joints in brickwork and stonework, which is a repointing job.
- Water driven into wall cavities, window frames and under door seals, which causes interior damage that appears days later.
- Paint and render stripped from walls, which converts a clean into a repaint.
- Electrical hazards where water reaches outdoor power points, lights or a meter box.
- In a pre-1990 home, the worst outcome of all: asbestos fibres released across the property and the neighbours' as well.
What pressure washing is priced on
- Area, and how accessible that area is to a machine and a hose run.
- Surface type, since delicate surfaces take longer at lower pressure rather than less time.
- The nature of the soiling: algae, lichen, oil, rubber and rust all need different pre-treatment.
- Whether pre-treatment chemicals with dwell time are included, which is what separates a real clean from a wet surface.
- Whether jointing sand is replaced afterwards on paving, which it should be.
- Water supply and whether the operator brings their own, which matters under restriction conditions.
- Whether sealing is wanted afterwards, which is a separate service with its own curing requirements.
- Waste and runoff management where the site drains directly to a stormwater entry.
Setting expectations, and how LokalMatch fits in
Agree in advance what cannot be removed. Oil that has soaked into unsealed concrete, rust staining from bore water or a steel item left on the slab, tyre-mark polymer transfer and efflorescence are not dirt and may not come off with water at any pressure. A good operator will say so before starting and will put it in the quote, which protects both of you.
Pressure washing damages surfaces in ways that surface later: water driven in behind cladding, render lifted off a wall, mortar cut out of old brickwork, paint stripped well past the point of touching up. When that happens the consumer guarantee on services is the lever — the work has to be carried out with acceptable care and skill, a minor failure has to be put right free of charge, and a major one lets you cancel for a refund or keep the job at a reduced price. Compensation for the damage itself is a separate claim, which is the argument for photographing every elevation before anyone picks up a lance.
LokalMatch only makes the introduction. You describe the surfaces, their approximate age, the area and what you are trying to remove, and businesses that cover your area contact you directly. Those businesses pay LokalMatch for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does no cleaning, quotes no prices and does not vet, rank or recommend any business, so checking your water authority's current rules and confirming the age of the materials is still your step.
Pressure Washing: frequently asked questions
Am I allowed to pressure wash my driveway?
It depends on your city and the current restriction stage. Sydney Water's Water Wise Guidelines say cleaning hard surfaces like paths, driveways, concrete or other paved areas with water is not permitted unless necessary for safety, health or emergency reasons, construction activity or surface contamination. Melbourne's permanent water saving rules say water must not be used to clean hard surfaces such as concrete, paths and driveways, with exemptions for an accident, fire, health hazard, safety hazard or other emergency, for staining and then only once a season, or during construction or renovation. Check your own water authority before booking.
Can I wash the house walls and the windows, though?
In Sydney, yes. Sydney Water states that you are permitted to use drinking water at any time to wash building structures, including windows, walls, gutters and roofing, and that a hose must be fitted with a trigger nozzle unless it is supplying high-pressure water cleaning equipment. That is a meaningful distinction from hard surfaces such as driveways and paths, which are restricted. Other authorities word their rules differently, so check yours rather than assuming Sydney's position applies.
Is there a limit on the machine itself?
In Melbourne, yes. The permanent water saving rules define a high pressure water cleaner as an electric or petrol-powered device that connects to a hose and forces water out at high pressure for more effective cleaning, and specify that the rate of delivery must be 9 litres per minute or less. Where an exemption applies, the rules require a high pressure water cleaning device to be used, or a hand-held hose or bucket if such a device is not available. The point is water efficiency, not cleaning power.
My house is fibro. Can the walls be pressure washed?
No. SafeWork NSW's safety alert says never use high-pressure water or compressed air on asbestos products, and warns that using high pressure water on asbestos can cause widespread contamination affecting not only the property being cleaned but neighbouring properties as well. Australian guidance is that many houses built before 1990 contain asbestos cement materials, especially in eaves, wall cladding, wet-area ceilings and fences. If you are not certain what the sheeting is, treat it as though it may contain asbestos and get advice before anyone cleans it.
Why does my concrete look striped after cleaning?
Because the passes were not overlapped evenly, so some bands of the slab were cleaned harder than others. It is the most common visible defect in the trade and it is largely avoidable with consistent technique and a surface cleaner attachment rather than a bare lance. The fix is usually to redo the whole area to an even standard. Raise it straight away, since under the Australian Consumer Law a minor problem with a service must be fixed by the business free of charge.
Should the surface be sealed afterwards?
It is optional and it is a separate job. Sealing concrete or paving makes future cleaning easier and slows oil penetration, but it changes the appearance, it has to be reapplied periodically, and it needs a properly dry and cured surface to bond to, which means it cannot be done the same afternoon. If you want it, price it separately and ask how long the surface has to dry first, because a sealer applied over trapped moisture will fail.
Sources
Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides
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What affects the cost of pressure washing
Prices depend on the details of your project. We only publish price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price:
- Size of the home and number of bathrooms
- Type of clean: regular, deep, move-in or move-out
- Current condition and how long since the last clean
- How often you book
- Extras like inside the oven, fridge, cabinets or windows
- Pets, stairs and access
How to compare pressure washing companies before you hire
- Ask exactly what's included in a standard clean, a deep clean and a move-out clean, since each company defines them differently.
- Check whether the company carries liability insurance and whether cleaners are employees or contractors.
- Ask whether they bring their own supplies and equipment, and whether they can use products you prefer.
- For recurring service, ask whether the same cleaner or team will usually come.
- For specialty work like carpet, upholstery or pressure washing, choose someone with the right equipment for that job.
Questions to ask pressure washing companies before you hire
- What exactly is included in the clean you're quoting?
- Do you bring your own supplies and equipment?
- Are you insured if something is damaged or someone is hurt?
- Will the same person or team come each time?
- How do you handle keys, alarm codes and access to my home?
- What happens if I'm not happy with part of the clean?
Pressure washing permits and local rules
Some pressure washing work needs a permit or has to meet local bylaws. Rules vary by municipality, so ask your pro whether a permit is needed and who will apply for it — and check with your city or town if you’re unsure.
Permits and licensingGuides about pressure washing
- ✦
House Cleaning guide
House cleaning is one of the few home services in Australia that nobody needs a licence to perform. There is no register of cleaners, no occupational licence and no qualification you can ask to see.
Read guide - ✦
Recurring Cleaning guide
Two very different services get booked with the same phone call in Australia: the standing weekly or fortnightly clean, and the end-of-lease clean that has to satisfy a property manager against a condition report.
Read guide - ✦
Deep Cleaning guide
A deep clean is the visit that reaches everything a standing round never touches: inside the oven and the rangehood, behind and under appliances, the tracks of sliding doors and flyscreens, skirtings, door frames, light…
Read guide
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