Pressure Washing

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Pressure washing is the fastest way to transform a drive, a patio or a path, and the fastest way to ruin one. The machine does not distinguish between the black algal film you want gone and the sand in the joints, the cement matrix at the surface of a paving slab or the pointing between bricks. On the right surface at the right pressure with the right nozzle it is transformative; a degree too aggressive and it leaves a permanently rougher, more absorbent surface that dirties faster than it did before.

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There is a second half to the job that almost never appears in a quotation, and it is the half with law attached. A patio wash produces dirty water carrying algae, moss, hydrocarbons off a drive, and whatever detergent was used. Where that water goes matters, because most driveways and yards drain to a surface water drain, and a surface water drain discharges straight to the environment rather than to treatment.

For a homeowner the practical consequences are about sequencing and expectations. A drive that is washed and then left with empty joints will lose its bedding; block paving needs re-sanding; a patio cleaned in November will green again by spring unless something is done about why it is greening. The firms worth having are the ones that raise all of that before they start the machine.

Not everything called pressure washing uses pressure

Cold high-pressure washing with a fan nozzle, the standard treatment for concrete, paving and hardstanding.
Rotary surface cleaners, a shrouded disc that keeps the nozzle at a fixed distance and gives a far more even result on large flat areas than a hand lance.
Hot water and steam cleaning, which lifts grease and chewing gum that cold water will not touch but raises the effluent question sharply.
Low-pressure soft washing, where a cleaning solution does the work and water at little more than hose pressure rinses it, used where the substrate will not take pressure.
Chemical-only treatment with brushing and rinsing, the approach usually taken on soft or historic masonry.
Dry methods — brushing, scraping and mechanical sweeping — which avoid the run-off problem entirely and are sometimes the right answer for a yard.

Where the dirty water goes: the part of the job that has law behind it

The Environment Agency's guidance for businesses states the position in one line: surface water drains discharge directly to the environment, and you must make sure contaminated water from your premises and business activities goes into the foul drain, or is recycled, or is removed by a registered waste carrier. It names yard cleaning and vehicle washing among the activities that produce contaminated water. The consequence if you get it wrong is not trivial — the guidance says that if you pollute you could face an unlimited fine, up to five years in prison, or both, and may have to pay the whole cost of the clean-up.

The statutory hook in England and Wales is regulation 12 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, under which a person must not, except under and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit, operate a regulated facility or cause or knowingly permit a water discharge activity or groundwater activity. Discharging to a foul sewer is a separate matter again: that is trade effluent, and it needs the agreement of the sewerage undertaker rather than the Environment Agency.

For Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland the joint Guidance for Pollution Prevention document GPP 13 on vehicle washing and cleaning, version 1.2 of June 2021, is the reference — it is published by Natural Resources Wales, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and SEPA, and it states on its own cover that it is not endorsed by the Environment Agency as regulatory guidance in England. GPP 13 says that where a pressure washer is used to clean roads, yard surfaces or other equipment in areas where drainage is not collected or connected to the foul sewer, run-off must be stopped from entering surface water drains, and that run-off containing cleaning chemicals, detergents or emulsifiers must never be allowed to enter surface water drains or drain to a soakaway without treatment. It also makes the point that pollution is often caused simply by mistaking a surface water drain for a foul or combined one.

What each surface will actually take

Concrete block paving cleans well but loses its jointing sand, and unsanded blocks will rock, spread and sink — re-sanding is part of the job, not an upsell.
Poured and brushed concrete is the most tolerant surface on a British drive, though a lance held too close will still leave stripes that never fade.
Indian sandstone and other imported flags vary enormously in hardness; the softer batches erode visibly under a rotary cleaner.
Riven slate, limestone and York stone can be marked permanently, and a discreet trial patch is the only honest way to find out in advance.
Tarmac and asphalt should be treated with great caution: pressure strips the bitumen binder and pulls the aggregate out.
Resin-bound surfaces have manufacturer limits on pressure and temperature, and exceeding them detaches the resin from the stone.
Decking softens and furs under pressure, raising the grain and leaving a surface that traps more algae than it started with.
Brick pointing, especially soft lime mortar on an older wall, is removed rather than cleaned by a pressure washer.

Damage that only becomes obvious weeks later

Blocks that start to rock and settle unevenly once the jointing sand has been washed out and not replaced.
A visibly rougher paving surface that grips dirt and re-greens faster than before, because the fine cement skin has been cut away.
Lance stripes and arcs across a large slab area, which are the signature of hand-lance work where a rotary cleaner was needed.
Water driven under a threshold, into an airbrick or behind render, producing internal damp a week or two after a clean.
Blown or missing pointing on a low wall or step riser that was cleaned at the same setting as the ground.
Silt and sand washed into gullies and channel drains, which then block and flood the very area that was just cleaned.
Lifted or blistered sealant on a previously sealed patio, which then has to be stripped rather than topped up.

A sensible sequence for a drive or patio

Agree in advance where the washings will go and how run-off will be kept out of any surface water gully on the property.
Walk the area first and identify anything vulnerable: airbricks, thresholds, soft pointing, planted joints, garden lighting and cable runs.
Trial a small area out of sight at the intended pressure and nozzle before committing to the whole surface.
Treat organic growth chemically where it is heavy, so the machine is rinsing rather than grinding it off.
Work methodically with a rotary surface cleaner on flat areas and keep the hand lance for edges and detail.
Re-sand block paving with the correct kiln-dried sand, worked in dry, before the surface is used again.
Clear the gullies, channels and grids afterwards, because everything removed from the surface has gone somewhere.
Decide about sealing as a separate conversation once the surface has fully dried, rather than on the same day.

Timing the work against British weather and regrowth

The green film on a British patio is living, and it grows fastest in the mild, damp conditions that occupy most of the year outside high summer. A clean in late winter looks superb for a few weeks and then meets the exact conditions the algae wants; a clean in late spring or early summer keeps its appearance longer because the surface is drying out between wettings. If the patio is permanently shaded by a fence, a conifer hedge or the house itself, no clean will hold for long and the underlying issue is light and airflow rather than dirt.

Two practical constraints follow. Re-sanding block paving needs the joints and the sand to be dry, which rules out a lot of the calendar and is a real reason a contractor might ask to come back rather than finish in one visit. And washing a surface in a frost window is a poor idea: water forced into a joint or a porous slab and then frozen does the damage the pressure washer was careful to avoid.

What drives a pressure washing quote, and how LokalMatch fits in

Area is the starting point but rarely the deciding factor. What moves a quotation is the surface type and how much care it demands, how heavy the growth is and whether a chemical pre-treatment is needed, whether the drive is block paving that must be re-sanded afterwards, how far the machine and its water have to be carried from the road, whether the property has a surface water gully that has to be protected or the washings collected, and whether sealing is wanted once everything has dried. Hot water and steam add plant costs and tighten the effluent question, so they appear on commercial quotations far more often than domestic ones.

On LokalMatch you set out the job a single time — surface, rough size, postcode, how bad it has got — and the pressure washing firms working in your area respond directly with their own quotations. The service is free for homeowners, and it is the professionals who pay to receive enquiries. LokalMatch does not carry out any cleaning, plays no part in setting prices, and does not vet, rank or recommend the firms that reply; comparing what they have each allowed for is your job and worth doing properly.

Pressure Washing: frequently asked questions

Is it illegal to let patio washings run into the drain?

It depends which drain and how contaminated the water is. Environment Agency guidance is explicit that surface water drains discharge directly to the environment and that contaminated water from business activities must go to foul drainage, be recycled, or be removed by a registered waste carrier — and that causing pollution can mean an unlimited fine, up to five years' imprisonment, or both. Regulation 12 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 prohibits causing or knowingly permitting a water discharge activity except as authorised by a permit. GPP 13, the joint NRW, NIEA and SEPA guidance, says run-off containing cleaning chemicals, detergents or emulsifiers must never enter surface water drains or a soakaway untreated.

Will pressure washing damage my block paving?

It will certainly remove the jointing sand, which is not damage in itself provided the sand is replaced. Blocks left unsanded lose their interlock, start to rock under vehicle loads and spread at the edges. Ask directly whether re-sanding with kiln-dried sand is included and when it will be done, because it needs dry joints and may mean a return visit.

Can I pressure wash my tarmac drive?

It is the surface to be most careful with. Pressure attacks the bitumen binder holding the aggregate together, and once stone starts coming loose the process continues on its own. Low pressure, a wide fan, distance, and a willingness to accept a less dramatic result are the way to approach tarmac — or a chemical treatment and a brush instead.

Why has my patio gone green again so quickly?

Usually because nothing changed except the appearance. Algae and moss grow where the surface stays damp — deep shade, poor air movement, overhanging planting, a slab that no longer drains because it has settled. Pressure washing can also make it worse by roughening the surface so it holds more moisture and dirt. If regrowth is rapid, the useful conversation is about shade, drainage and falls rather than about cleaning more often.

Should the patio be sealed after cleaning?

Sometimes, and never on the same day. A sealer applied to a surface that is still holding water traps that water and can bloom or cloud. Sealers also change the appearance and the slip characteristics of a surface, and they have to be renewed. Treat it as a separate decision taken once the paving has thoroughly dried, and ask what happens at the end of the sealer's life, because stripping a failed sealer is a bigger job than applying one.

Does pressure washing make a patio slippery?

Cleaning off algae usually improves grip considerably, since it is the biological film that makes a wet patio treacherous. What can reduce grip is over-aggressive washing that polishes or erodes a textured surface, or a sealer that leaves a smoother film than the stone underneath. If slip resistance matters — a step, a ramp, a route used by someone unsteady — say so before the work, because it changes the method.

Sources

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 21 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.

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