Your home requires a great deal of maintenance to keep it in good repair and looking great. One of the big parts of regular home maintenance is taking care of your driveway. A home’s driveway can take a real beating. Between dirt, leaky car engines foot traffic mold, algae, and damage from mother nature, your home’s driveway can take a beating. Let’s go over the steps of how to pressure wash your driveway.
PREP YOUR WORK AREA
The first step to pressure washing your driveway is the same as with most other home projects: preparation. Making sure your work area is clear of obstacles is important. If possible move your cars to the street or if you have one put them in the garage. Now you want to move any potted plants or other yard decorations away from your work area, this will save you time on the last step, clean up. Next, add your favorite degreaser to any grease or oil spots. If you have algae or mold, spray some sodium hypochlorite on it. A pump sprayer works fine for this part. Make sure to soak down your flowerbeds and lawn around your driveway if you are using chemicals. This will save your plants from an untimely death.
PPE AND PRESSURE WASHING YOUR DRIVEWAY
When it comes to pressure washing safety is a must. Having proper Personal Protective Equipment or PPE is a must. First, get a good pair of safety glasses, these will protect your eyes from any debris that is bound to head straight for your eyes. Next, get a good pair of waterproof gloves, these will prevent injury and keep your hands dry. Rain gear isn’t required PPE but we recommend it. At the very least buy a decent pair of rain boots. You will regret it if you wear your “waterproof hiking boots” or sneakers. Soaked feet really make an easy job seem awful.
HOSE MANAGEMENT
After your pressure washer is set up take a minute to make sure your hoses are unspooled correctly, you do not want kinks in your hose. When pressure washing your driveway, hoses being in your way can be maddening. Set them up longways along the side of your driveway and then pressure wash small sections moving your hose when needed. If you try to work in long strips you will fight your hose the whole time.
SURFACE CLEANER
Using a surface cleaner is the fastest way to pressure wash your driveway. You can use a pressure washer gun (and you will, for cleanup), but this will dramatically increase the amount of time you spend working. If you don’t want to buy a surface cleaner you can rent one from The Home Depot. Make sure you work slowly in a systematic pattern so you don’t miss any spots. I like to work in a grid pattern, this helps keep track of where you have cleaned.
CLEANING UP
Once you have completed using the surface cleaner now it’s time for cleanup. Use your pressure washer gun to clean the silt and excess water off the driveway. Now you will be able to see any spots you may have missed with the surface cleaner. Clean these spots and pay special attention to the edges of the driveway, that is where most of your missed spots will be. Now is the worst part, roll up your hoses.
IS PRESSURE WASHING YOUR DRIVEWAY IMPORTANT?
Of course, it is! Pressure washing your driveway will greatly improve your home’s looks. Fighting off the spread of mold and algae on your property is aways beneficial. You can be truly surprised by how good pressure washing can make your driveway look. If you are not a Do IT Yourself type of person please feel free to contact Billy Goat for your Pressure washing needs.