A quality driveway or natural stone patio represents a huge financial investment. Unfortunately, untrained operators with high-powered jet washers can cause permanent, irreversible damage in minutes.
Blasting surfaces with uncontrolled pressure strips the smooth protective wear layer off concrete block paving, gouges soft Indian sandstone, and blows out delicate joint mortar. Worse still, many operators dump cheap, corrosive industrial sodium hypochlorite (bleach) across your property to cut corners—risking severe chemical burns to family pets, scorching prized lawn borders, and washing toxic run-off into our local storm drains.
I do things very differently. I run a clean, ethical, detailer-grade restoration service.
I refuse to use hazardous sodium hypochlorite. I rely on safe thermal shock (Pure Steam) and fully biodegradable water-based treatments. Your dogs can walk outside safely, lawn edges will never scorch, and local waterways stay clean.
I don't blast stone. I operate my commercial petrol rig at a safe, controlled 2,000–2,200 PSI using high water flow rather than aggressive force. This lifts grime without pitting concrete or eroding bedding sand.
When pre-saturated with water, lichen loses heat tolerance (dying at >35°C). Boiling water at 100°C penetrates 1.5mm deep, permanently killing root organisms inside stone pores.
Built on published stone conservation research. Engineered for long-term purity.
For driveways with stubborn traffic film and diesel soot, I apply specialized biodegradable degreasers (the same professional chemistry I use on Ferrari, Porsche and Range Rover) to lift the oil barrier naturally - 1 part in 200.
All sections are cleaned using a professional skirted flat-surface rotary. Stubborn lichen spores are treated with pure steam to break the organic bond without harsh acids or bleach.
I use dedicated low-pressure short-lance tools to cut in around doorsteps, gully pots, and wooden gates. Any stray water splash on walls or garage doors is thoroughly rinsed down before I pack away.
For block paving, I allow the sub-base and joints to dry thoroughly before returning to sweep fresh, sterile kiln-dried sand deep into the joints. Premium protective sealers (like Jarder One Coat) are available to lock the sand and repel winter algae.
What I get asked most about driveway and patio cleaning — answered honestly, including the parts that don't sell the job.
Yes. Moss isn't a stain you remove, it's a plant that lives where it's damp — and paving joints hold water. You can't kill moss permanently, only manage the conditions. Cleaned and re-sanded, most drives go 2–4 years before it's worth doing again. A shaded drive, or one that stays wet, will come back quicker. I'll tell you which yours is when I see it.
Because he's selling you two hours and I'm selling you a day. He'll wash the surface, blow the jointing sand out and leave it looking great for six months — then you'll find the moss back, the joints empty, and loose blocks along the edge. I clean it, take the moss out of the joints, re-sand them properly and deal with the weeds. If all you want is the green gone before a family do this weekend, he's the sensible call, and I'll say so.
For moss on concrete, honestly — you can. Hire a machine, spend a day on it, do a decent job. Where DIY goes wrong on block paving and sandstone is the pressure: too much and you strip the jointing sand, chip the block edges and etch the surface, and that's damage you can't put back. You also won't have the kit to re-sand the joints or steam the black spot, so you'll do the easy half of the job and wonder why it's green again by autumn.
Cheapest quote first, then again every year: that's five visits, five lots of joint sand lost, blocks loosening at the edges and a surface that gets rougher each time. Done properly, with the joints re-sanded, most drives go 2–4 years between treatments, and the paving is in better condition at the end of it than the cheap route leaves it now. The cheapest clean is rarely the cheapest driveway.
Most of the time yes — and I'll tell you so. Autumn is a good time to clean and re-sand, because the moss is slowing down and the joints take the sand well. But if your paving stays damp through winter, cleaning it now means it can show again by March. In that case I'll say leave it and book me for spring. I'd rather do it once at the right time than twice for the sake of an invoice.
Usually shade or airflow, not drainage. Paving dries by evaporation, and that needs moving air as much as sun — an enclosed garden or a low-lying drive can stay damp in full sun. It's also the single biggest factor in how quickly the moss returns. If yours is one of those, I'll say so, and we'll plan around it rather than pretending otherwise.
You walk round it with me before I pack up, in daylight, and we look at it together — joints, edges, the lot. If something isn't right, I sort it. I live in Great Horkesley, I'm not disappearing, and I'd rather come back than leave a driveway I'm not proud of with my name on it.
I won't use sodium hypochlorite, even though it would be cheaper and faster for me. I won't wash block paving and call it a job without dealing with the joints — that's half the work for the same money, and it's why people end up disappointed. And I won't seal paving that's damp, because it fails and I'd be the one coming back to fix it. Those three limits are what makes the rest of it worth anything.
Setup, travel and packing down take nearly as long as the cleaning, and re-sanding is slow work done properly. So I do one driveway a day rather than three in a rush. The £100 minimum is just a day's capacity having a floor. If your job is smaller than that, ask anyway — if I'm already working nearby I can often fit it in around something else.
Serving Great Horkesley, Boxted, West Bergholt, Nayland, and North Essex estates. Speak directly with Lee Miller.