Driveway looking a little tired? Over time rain, mud and any other number of contaminants can make your once shiny brickwork look dull, slimy and even abandoned. Driveways get hammered by the elements all year round and aren’t often the first port of call for cleaning.
Related: Car Cleaning 101: the ultimate guide
Driveway cleaning can be a surprisingly satisfying event if done with the right tools. The tough substances that make up driveways can hold so much grime and are tough enough to accept the type of jet from a pressure washer that could threaten the paintwork on a car. This means a good blast will safely uncover years of grime and expose a totally new look to your front garden. It’s not uncommon to find that a driveway is a totally different colour to what you thought it was.
So whether you have a brick, concrete or gravel driveway, we’ve put together the four best ways to clean them and get them looking their best.
Before you start, consider your safety:
You’ll more than likely be using pressurised water and strong detergents while you clean a driveway and as such should take some safety precautions. We recommend wearing some wellies and nitrile gloves as a bare minimum, especially if you’re using a pressure washer and detergents. It’s also a good idea to buy some safety glasses and maybe even a face mask to ensure you stay as safe as possible.
Dunlop Unisex Wellington Boots
Price: £13.82 | VIEW OFFER
Ansell HyFlex Safety Work Gloves
Price: £5.99 | VIEW OFFER
DEWALT Clear High Performance Lightweight Protective Safety Glasses
Price: £5.68 | VIEW OFFER
What are my cleaning options?
Option one: Pressure washing
The obvious choice for cleaning anything outside is to buy a pressure washer and blast away any debris you come across. These tools are perfect as the pressurised water will cut through muck without damaging surfaces and can easily be teamed with cleaning detergents to cut through particularly toughened dirt.
Start by removing any sports equipment, bikes or vehicles that are parked on the driveway. This will make cleaning a lot easier and ensure you reach every little nook.
Make sure to choose the right head for your pressure washer – a 25-degree nozzle will be perfect for most instances. Most pressure washers will feature a detergent tank and now is a good time to fill it up with an appropriate driveway cleaner (we like Patio Magic).
Start at the top of your driveway and work your way down, making sure to work in small sections to make sure you don’t miss any spots. Pay special attention to any stains or problem areas and ensure they’re tackled sufficiently before moving on from them.
Nilfisk Core 140 Pressure Washer
Price: £147.99 | VIEW OFFER
The obvious choice for cleaning anything has to be a decent pressure washer. This stylish number from Nilfisk offers 140 bar of pressure and will be incredibly reliable thanks to the metal internals. Designed for car, outdoor furniture and patio cleaning, one of these will immediately find use beyond simply jet washing a driveway, cleaning just about anything you want. If the brunt force of water won’t shift the mud, a dedicated patio cleaner attachment can be added for even more effective cleaning.
Pros
• The most versatile cleaning option
• Powerful ability
Cons
• Uses a lot of water
Specs
• Maximum pressure 140 bar
• Maxiumum Water flow 474 l/h
• Weight 8.7kg
• Hose length Eight metres
Option two: A patio cleaner
An expensive and specialist option, a dedicated patio cleaner will deeply scrub any exterior surface to help lift away moss, dirt and grime. Straightforward to use and a really powerful option for muck, these tools may be an expense that’s hard to justify, but for cleaning large exterior areas nothing comes close. They work by simply running the tool over the floor with the brush spinning.
Ryobi Cordless Patio Cleaner With Scrubbing Brush
Price: £135.99 | VIEW OFFER
Ryobi offers two patio cleaners, this one with a scrubbing brush and a wire option for stripping away embedded weeds. This option is more versatile for general outdoor cleaning and is ergonomically designed to make cleaning stress-free. The handle is telescopic and it features an overmould to keep you pain-free while using the tool. Like most Ryobi tools, however, you’ll need a battery and charger (which are sold separately).
Pros
• The best deep-clean option
• Top quality product
Cons
• Expensive (and that’s before you buy the battery)
Specs
• Weight 3.5kg
• Battery 18V
Option three: Pressure spraying
Different to a pressure washer, a pressure sprayer is decidedly low-tech and affordable. Pressure is built manually using a hand pump and then sprayed via a simple lance. Able to use driveway cleaning materials to soften dirt and remove organic material, they’re also great for use by any green-fingered gardeners for applying fertilisers and pesticides.
A quick word of warning though, double-check the chemical limitations with any pressure sprayer before buying it, harsh cleaning chemicals may degrade the seals and render the product useless.
The only issue with these pressure sprayers is that the pressure generated is in no way comparable to a pressure washer, they’re great for applying chemicals but rubbish for blasting muck away.
Use it like a pressure washer, liberally applying any cleaning agents to the driveway making sure to start at the top and work your way down.
The lack of pressure means you may have to team it with the next method to get a properly cleaned driveway however.
Spear & Jackson Pump Action Pressure Sprayer
Price: £12.75 | VIEW OFFER
A top-seller for a reason, this five-litre pressure sprayer is well-made and competitively priced. Designed primarily for gardening, the Spear & Jackson would is also ideal for your driveway too. The shoulder strap makes moving the unit around easy while the adjustable nozzle will make cleaning a lot easier.
Pros
• Affordable way of applying cleaning chemicals
• Well-made and ergonomic
Cons
• Won’t blast away the harshest muck
Specs
• Capacity Five litres
• Weight (loaded) 5.4kg
• pH range 5-9
Option four: The brush method
The cheapest method, but also the most back-breaking, is to get busy with a good quality brush.
Cleaning a driveway using a brush is relatively straightforward, use a stiff brush to move leaves and other debris out the way. Unfortunately, that’s about all you can do with a brush, it won’t shift embedded dirt and it won’t restore lost colour or remove weeds. Everyone should have a decent broom, just know there are better tools for cleaning a driveway.
Heritage Set of 2 Stiff and Soft Broom Set
Price: £15 | VIEW OFFER
Two brooms are better than one, especially when they’re designed for different jobs. The soft example uses coconut hairs for sweeping up smaller debris while the stiff model uses bassine for sweeping up leaves and other large debris. Both feature wooden handles and can be easily hung up for storage. They’re well made too, so they shouldn’t end up like Trigger’s broom.
Pros
• Affordable and quality
• Can be used around the home
• Everyone needs a good broom
Cons
• It’s the most laborious way to clean a driveway
• Won’t shift heavily ingrained muck
Specs
• Brooms supplied Two
• Material Wood
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