Pressure Washing in Everett, WA

Why we use a surface cleaner, not a wand

A pressure washing wand concentrates all its energy in a narrow fan. Sweep that across a driveway by hand and you get striping — alternating light and dark bands where the passes overlapped or did not. Once that pattern is etched into concrete it is there until the whole slab is cleaned again properly, and often the only fix is going over the entire surface a second time at even pressure.

A surface cleaner is a rotating enclosed head that holds a fixed distance from the slab and covers a wide path at constant pressure. The result is even edge to edge. Wands still get used, but for what they are good at — cutting into expansion joints, working edges and corners, and detailing up against the garage door and the foundation.

Given the mascot, we take the striping thing personally. Stripes belong on Zeke.

Surfaces we clean, and how they differ

Not all hard surfaces want the same pressure, and a few want considerably less than people expect.

Poured concrete driveways and walkways

The most forgiving surface. Handles full pressure and shows the biggest visible change.

Pavers

The pavers are fine; the joint sand is not. Too much pressure blows it out and destabilises the field. Lower pressure, and re-sanding afterwards if a lot of it comes up.

Exposed aggregate

The stones are held by a matrix that can be eroded. Cleans up beautifully at moderate pressure, loses stones at high pressure.

Stamped and coloured concrete

There is usually a sealer and sometimes a colour layer on top. Both can be stripped. This one gets treated as a finish, not as concrete.

Brick and mortar

Depends entirely on the mortar's condition. Sound joints are fine; deteriorating joints will wash out.

About stains, honestly

Organic staining — moss, algae, leaf and needle tannin, that dark rim under the downspout — comes up reliably. That is the majority of what makes concrete around here look bad, and it is the reason the before-and-after on our driveway job looks the way it does.

Oil and transmission fluid are a different matter. Fresh spills respond well to degreaser and heat. Old oil that has been soaking into porous concrete for years has penetrated below the surface, and cleaning the surface does not reach it. We can usually lighten it substantially and sometimes remove it entirely, but we will not promise a slab that has been parked on for fifteen years will come back uniform.

Rust from fertiliser, patio furniture, or rebar sitting too close to the surface needs a specific treatment rather than pressure, and deep rust may not fully release. Same principle: we would rather set the expectation accurately than surprise you.

What drives the price

Mostly square footage, then surface type and condition. A large plain driveway is efficient to clean. The same area broken into a patio, three walkways and a set of steps takes considerably longer because the edge work and detail work multiply.

Water access matters, and so does slope — a driveway that runs toward the garage needs the runoff managed rather than just pushed downhill.

Questions we get asked