5 Essential Tips For Pristine Driveway Cleaning

A lot of homeowners who spend time cleaning their driveway just turn on a hose and spray the area down. They may not realise that they are wasting water, doing far more work than they need to and generally not being very efficient with their cleaning technique.
In order to properly clean your driveway, you need to know the best way to do it, and you have to have the right tools. There are lots of ways to clean a driveway, but we have the tips to help you save time and money and get it cleaner every time. It’s especially important to do as part of your spring cleaning routine.

Sweep First

You want to start by sweeping your driveway. You can use the same broom you use inside your house or buy a special outside broom that’s little stiffer and able to me large items like small branches and leaves. You can use rake as well, but that will leave behind smaller items that a broom would be able to get out of the way.

Doing some sweeping or raking first saves you time and water. You can stand for a long time with a hose trying to spray some leaves and branches off the driveway and not get very far. It takes a lot less time and effort to simply sweep or rake them away. It also gives you a cleaner-looking driveway. It’s up to you whether you want to bag that debris up and get it away from your driveway or just leave it on your yard.

Get the Right Cleaning Solution

Now you can buy a cleaning solution at any large retailer or hardware store that can clean your driveway, or you can make your own from common household chemicals like baking soda and detergent. It needs to be said, however, that a store-bought cleaner will often work much better. If you use a cleaning solution that you mixed yourself, then you will have to apply it to the driveway multiple times in order to get it clean. It simply isn’t likely to be very effective, and you will end up wasting a lot of time that you could be saving if you used a cleaner from the store.

With any cleaning solution or your driveway, the point is to get rid of the grease and oil that builds up there. That stuff can become slippery and dangerous over time, not to mention an eyesore. You need a cleaning solution that can cut through all that and get it out of your driveway. There are a number of solutions available that work pretty well, but you may want to do some research and read reviews before you make your purchase.

Prep the Driveway for Chemicals

Before you put down any chemicals in your driveway, be sure to wet it thoroughly. You don’t need to power anything, but just spray enough water to get the entire driveway wet. If you want to forego the hose, you can simple dump a bucket of water on the driveway to ensure that the entire surface is covered with water. By wetting the driveway, you allow the chemicals you are going to put down to be more effective.

Apply and Brush

Next, you’ll need to apply your cleaning solution and brush it out. Use a scrub brush, grill brush or some other tough tool that can really work the solution there. This is definitely the most strenuous part of the entire cleaning process, but that’s how you are going to get rid of those oil stains and grease spills. Work the entire driveway or just focus on the parts that have stains. It’s up to you how detailed you want to get with this part of cleaning your driveway. It is best to finish before the chemicals dry, though, as they will be easier to wash off if they are still wet. We suggest cleaning during times of day when it is shady or there isn’t a lot of direct sunlight, such as in the late afternoon. You want to clean when there is ample light to see what you are doing, though.

Clean It Off

Now you can take out the hose and spray off the driveway. Be sure to get rid of all the solution. You will want to start from the top of the driveway and work your way down so that you are not having to rewash parts that you already washed.

You’ll want to do this when there is enough light to see the driveway clearly and so that you can ensure you get all the solution and dirt cleaned off. Make sure you wash away all the stains as well, as most of them should be washable after you have scrubbed the cleaning solution in.
Once you have finished washing the driveway, you can look it over to see if there is anything that you missed. Look for dark spots and areas with greasy build-up. You may need to go back and redo those areas. You don’t have to do the entire driveway again. Just focus on the areas that need some extra cleaning. You can also hire a professional cleaning company that focuses on things like that.

You should clean your driveway about once a month. The more cars you park there, the more often you will likely need to clean it, but once a month is good for most people. If you have kids that use the driveway for outdoor activities, then you probably want to wash the driveway more often. You should also wash it before you use that space for cookouts or other get-togethers. This ensures that there are no grease spots left for people to slip on.

If you clean your driveway regularly like this, then it will last longer and be safer to use. Not cleaning it can cause corrosion and make the driveway look patchy over time. Hopefully, with the guidelines we have given you, you will be able to clean it faster and more effectively, saving time, water