Concrete cleaning uses high-pressure water to lift embedded dirt, algae, rust and organic staining out of the pores of the slab. Done with a rotating surface cleaner it produces an even result across the whole pour. Done with a handheld wand it produces stripes you will look at for the next five years.
Why the zebra stripes happen
A pressure washing wand cleans in a narrow, intense arc. Sweeping it across a driveway means every pass overlaps unevenly with the one before, and concrete records that difference permanently. The result is the striped, wavy pattern you see on half the driveways in any neighbourhood where someone rented a machine for a weekend.
A surface cleaner solves it mechanically. It is a shrouded housing with pressurised jets on a rotating bar, held at a fixed height, moving at a consistent rate. Every square inch receives the same treatment, so the finish is uniform. It is also dramatically faster, which is the reason it is worth owning.
There is no fixing stripes afterwards, short of cleaning the whole slab again more aggressively. This is a get-it-right-the-first-time surface.
What comes off, and what does not
Concrete cleaning reliably removes the accumulated grey film, algae and moss in the pores, mud and clay, leaf tannin staining, and most surface dirt from tyres and foot traffic.
Two categories need chemical treatment beyond water, and both are common around here:
- Rust. Orange staining from well-water irrigation, fertiliser spreaders and anything metal left sitting. Iron-rich well water is the norm across much of Southeast Missouri, and sprinkler rust is one of the most frequent calls we get. It responds to an oxalic-acid based treatment, not to pressure — no amount of PSI will move it.
- Oil and transmission fluid. Petroleum soaks into the slab rather than sitting on it. A degreaser with proper dwell time pulls most of it back out. Old, deeply saturated stains usually lighten substantially rather than vanish, and we will set that expectation before we start rather than after.
Surfaces we clean
Driveways, sidewalks and entry paths, patios and pool decks, garage floors, retaining walls, front steps and porches, and paver or stamped concrete where the surface will take it.
Pavers and stamped concrete need a lighter hand. Aggressive pressure strips joint sand out of pavers and can damage the release colour on stamped work. Both are cleanable, but they are a different job from a plain broom-finished driveway, and pricing reflects that.
What concrete cleaning costs
Flat concrete is priced by the square foot, adjusted for how bad it is. A driveway that gets washed every year and one that has not been touched in a decade take very different amounts of time even at the same size.
Rust and oil treatment are quoted separately because they consume chemical rather than time, and because the outcome is less predictable — we would rather price them honestly than bury them in a flat rate and disappoint you.
Sealing is a natural follow-on once a slab is clean and dry, and it is what keeps it that way. Ask when you book if you want it quoted alongside.
How often driveways need doing
Annually is right for most. Shaded concrete under trees, anything that stays damp, and north-facing slabs green up faster and may want it more often.
There is a safety argument as well as an appearance one. Algae on concrete is genuinely slick when wet, and walkways, pool surrounds and entry steps are where people fall.
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