Having a clean driveway can make all the difference to the appearance of your home but the damp British climate often leaves driveways and patios looking the worse for wear. If your paving isn’t sealed properly, you may soon start to notice the original colour fading, dirt building up and weeds poking through the gaps. Even with a new driveway or patio, there are a few things to consider if you want to keep it looking its best.
What is driveway or patio cleaning?
Many people assume they know how to clean a patio but it requires more than just a regular brush down and pulling out the odd weed. Paving blocks are laid on a bed of sand, so it’s easy to see how that can turn into dirt when it gets wet. Not only does it look messy, but it’s also a breeding ground for moss and algae.
For a thorough patio cleaning or driveway cleaning, you need to destroy any rogue weeds at the roots with a strong weed killer. Next, use a pressure washer to spray the paving surface – be sure to clean in between the sand joints too. While you’ll notice an immediate improvement in the appearance, it will be short-lived unless you then use a driveway or patio sealer.
What is driveway or patio sealing?
Sealing protects your driveway or patio from the elements by filling in the tiny holes in the surface of the paving blocks to make them non-porous. The sealant provides a protective layer that prevents water from seeping in. This is particularly important in the UK where the rainy weather can affect your driveway or patio. It’s also worth noting that when the sun’s out, the UV rays can fade the colour of your paving.
While sealing provides long-term protection, once it’s applied it can be difficult to reverse, so it’s important that you check whether the sand in the joints needs replacing before applying sealant.
Benefits of sealing and cleaning
As well as improving the appearance of your driveway or patio, you’ll find sealing and cleaning provide many other benefits. Cleaning brightens the paving blocks by bringing the original colour to the surface; sealing then locks in the colour and prevents it from fading. Sealing also protects your paving blocks from oil spills and pollution. Replacing the sand in the joints strengthens the paving, and sealing the gaps between joints prevents the growth of weeds, moss and algae.
How often should you seal and clean?
Investing in driveway cleaning and sealing can reduce your overall maintenance and extend the life of your paving, but it’s important that it’s done correctly. If you’re not sure about it, it’s worth talking to a professional driveway cleaner. ProJet can inspect your paving to assess whether sealing and sanding are required. And, with two coats of ProJet’s premier sealer, your driveway or patio will be in great shape for the next five years! If you’d like to find out more, just get in touch.
