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How Much Does Driveway Cleaning Cost?
A very common form of household cleaning service that people choose is to have their driveway professionally cleaned. A high-quality jet or power wash cleaning service can add a new lease of life to any tired paving or concrete and really rejuvenate the overall kerb appeal of your property. It could even add value to your home!
But, if you’re looking to have your driveway cleaned, how much should you expect to pay? The answer will depend on the condition of your driveway and the exact services you need. However, we’ve included some example prices in the table to the right – these are to have a medium sized (i.e. room for two cars) driveway cleaned. Of course, the prices will vary depending on where you are across the country, so we’ve given you approximations based on our knowledge of how local prices change.
For more detail and to help with your research, the rest of this article is packed full of information on how much your driveway cleaning project is likely to cost. So, whether you’ve got a serious lichen, mould, algae, oil stain or dirt issue, you’re just looking to have a simple jet wash, or you’re in need of a full clean and re-sand service, read on to find out how much you could expect to pay.
Driveway cleaning prices
First, we’ll tackle the prices you could pay for driveway cleaning. Jet washing a driveway is a common cleaning job, and while it obviously improves the appearance of your driveway, it can also help the safety and functionality. Driveways that aren’t regularly cleaned can become slippery and unsafe, or even in extreme cases areas of the paving or concrete may sink entirely.
Jet or power washing a driveway is likely to cost somewhere from £180 to £500, depending on the size of the driveway. For smaller single car driveways, expect to pay between £180 and £300. For medium sized, double car driveways expect to pay around £250-£400. And then, for larger driveways with space for more than two cars, expect to pay from £400 upwards.
What affects the cost of cleaning a driveway?
As we’ve just mentioned, the main thing that will affect the cost of driveway cleaning is the overall size of your driveway. Most driveway cleaning companies will charge either a fixed day rate (where larger driveways will require multiple people or multiple days), or they’ll apply a standard call out charge plus an additional charge per m2 of driveway that needs cleaning.
Other things that can affect the price include the type of driveway you’ve got, and the condition of it. The type of driveway doesn’t generally make a huge difference, with crazy paving, slab paving and concrete all being relatively similar in price. However, a concrete driveway in particularly poor condition can be more expensive to get cleaned, as this type of driveway can be quite vulnerable and require special attention.
However, while the type of paving you’ve got generally won’t make a difference, the condition of your driveway is likely to make a huge one. The prices we’ve given above assume that your driveway is in reasonably good condition, meaning only fairly minor weeds, dirt, lichen or mould that can be treated and removed with one chemical treatment and a power wash.
However, many driveways are in substantially worse condition than this, and that’s when you’ll end up paying more to get them cleaned and brought back up to a good standard. If you’ve got serious amounts of weeds or lichen growing, you may need multiple courses of weed killer or other chemical treatments, as well as potentially even needing multiple power or jet wash cleaning procedures. This will make your overall bill more expensive, as it will simply take the company far longer to clean your driveway. Plus, more invasive chemical or jet washing treatments will also mean the cleaned driveway will need more attention in the re-sanding and resealing phases, meaning even more work for the tradespeople.
You may be able to reduce this by applying the weed killer treatments yourself to get your driveway up to a better standard. Most companies will offer their own individual quotes for driveways in poor condition, and it can be very dependent on the exact condition. So if your driveway is in very poor condition, it’s worth speaking to a few different tradespeople to get a range of quotes and to discuss the exact solution that’s required.
What’s included in a driveway cleaning service?
Driveway cleaning is generally a four stage process, involving:
- Treating the area with weed killer and other chemicals
- Power or jet washing to clean the entire driveway
- Re-sanding the joints
- Resealing any cracks or problem areas
Each step is a vital part of the cleaning process. While some driveways in very good condition may not need every step, it’s generally considered good practice to have them all done. Your chosen driveway cleaning company will be able to advise you on whether they think your driveway is in a good enough condition to not need to be treated or resealed.
Treating the driveway with weed killer or other stain removing chemicals is an important part of the process. Pressure washing alone isn’t enough to remove tough stains or to stop weeds from simply growing back immediately, so this step is all about ensuring your recently cleaned driveway lasts longer. Reputable driveway cleaning companies will know the right chemicals to use for specific stains, and apply them safely and in a way that doesn’t damage the surrounding environment or your garden.
The actual pressure washing step may seem straightforward enough, but washing too harshly can damage certain kinds of driveway, so again choose a reputable driveway cleaning company who will be able to carry out a high-quality cleaning job without damaging the top surface of your paving or concrete.
The process of re-sanding is also a vital part of the process. If you’ve got a paved driveway, the joints between each paving are brushed over with kiln dried sand. This is because pressure washing can dislodge the jointing sand that separates the paving slabs. Over time, if this sand is washed away, the slabs can move around and even come totally loose, creating a safety issue and damaging the structural integrity of the driveway. This re-sanding process doesn’t take long, but it can really protect your driveway for longer.
Resealing is the last step in the driveway cleaning process. This simply means applying a coat of sealant to the driveway, paying particular attention to any cracks in the paving or surface. The sealant helps to add a layer of waterproofing, protecting your driveway from water or dirt ingress and ultimately keeping it in great condition for longer. Sealant can also keep algae and moss at bay for longer.
Speak to whichever driveway cleaning company you choose about the exact range of services you need. As we’ve said, if your driveway is in good condition, you may not need to have it treated or sealed. Reputable cleaning companies will be able to assess the condition of your driveway and recommend which services are needed – so it’s worth speaking to a couple of cleaning companies to get a range of quotes.