How to clean concrete driveway

concrete driveway

It is a simple task to take a broom and sweep your driveway concrete to remove daily debris. However, when it comes to making it spackling clean, you have to go an extra mile to make it come out better. 

Well, you got different ways to go about this, depending on the equipment that is available for the work. The typical three methods are the use of chemical cleaners, regular detergents, or pressure washing. Let's go ahead to help you know how you are to use the three possible options:

Steps on How to clean concrete driveway

1.

Using A Pressure Washer

This is the first and most straightforward method of cleaning your driveway. Once you have had your pressure washer in place, you need first to clear the driveway so that all the loose materials and items are not on site. For the driveways next to walls and doors, it is recommended that you cover the walls and the doors with something like cardboard. Ensure that you plan for the drainage of the cleaning water.

Once the site is clear, you can apply a degreaser on the site as you concentrate on the parts with evident stains. Allow the degreaser to settle on the site for a few hours. You can keep checking which sections need to be added more of the degreaser and do so. Go ahead and scrub the stains with a wire brush. After it is well-scrubbed, you can clear it using the pressure washer. You can use either a low or a high-pressure nozzle depending on the strength of the driveway.

The next thing to do is to apply a detergent which is relevant to the pressure washer that you are using. Always use the low-pressure nozzle to apply detergents. Allow the detergent to sit on the site for at least 15 minutes. The detergent should not dry on the driveway and so ensure you apply some water to keep it wet. Go ahead and rinse the driveway using the high-pressure nozzle with the washer set at rinse mode.

2.

Cleaning Using Ordinary Household Products

There are several household products that you could use to have your driveway clean. For instance, you can use natural absorbents like cornmeal, baking soda, cat litter, cola, or \ny dishwasher detergents. Working with such products is very simple.

You have to sprinkle and pour the powder ones and the liquid products respectively and allow them to sit for several hours. You can even let them sit overnight. Afterward, you can use a horse to clean away all the debris. The absorbents will absorb all the oils while the detergents will weaken the sitting of any dirt. You can repeat the washing severally to come up with the best results.

3.

Using Chemicals

This would be the last option for the cleaning of the concrete driveway. It, however, requires you to be very keen and follow strictly the instructions that come with the cleaner chemicals. Some people would prefer to make their chemicals, but then if you are not sure about what you are to do, avoid that option and go for the already made chemicals. The good thing with these chemicals is that you do not have to use any water. Apply the chemicals concentrating on the stronger stains for some time. You might have to apply the chemicals for more than two days to altogether remove the stains before you can finally do your regular washing. If the driveway is full of pet urine stains, the chemical method will be the best for you.

If you have a discipline of keeping your concrete driveway clean, you will not spend much time to do the advanced cleaning, as explained above. The effectiveness of the cleanup depends on the frequency of the cleanup. You do not have to struggle. However, you should ensure that you choose a method that can work best for you, depending on the intensity of the stain. Expenditure is as well a factor to be considered before you decide on the approach to use. The good news is that regardless of the way you choose, you can always do it yourself. If you decide to hire someone to do it for you, ensure that you do a followup.

Conclusion

Follow the above instruction when cleaning the concrete driveway. We tried to give you the best guide line. Again you can get more information of pros and cons of a concrete driveway.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 29 comments
Lyla Peterson - March 3, 2020

It’s good to know that you can clean a concrete driveway by letting baking soda sit overnight. I am thinking about having a new stamped concrete driveway installed at my house, but I have a few relatives with leaky cars. I will keep your advice in mind to keep my pavement clean after they have come to visit.

Reply
Eileen Benson - March 10, 2020

It was helpful when you mentioned that using a power washer is the most straightforward way for keeping a concrete driveway clean. My husband and I want to hire a local contractor to install an extra-wide driveway for the single-family home we purchased last month. Thanks for sharing these tips we can use to keep the concrete looking good after it’s installed!

Reply
Jarom Linton - March 11, 2020

It makes a lot of sense to avoid making your own chemicals at home to clean the driveway if you have no real experience doing that. My partner and I need to get a new driveway this year because our current one is falling apart. We don’t like the way it looks from the road so we need a professional to help us replace it.

Reply
Liz Hudson - March 31, 2020

Thanks for explaining that you can use a degreaser and pressure washer to clean your driveway. My current gravel driveway is a bit difficult to maintain, so I have been thinking about replacing it with concrete sometime next month. Your tips will certainly be helpful to keep it looking clean.

Reply
Max Beck - April 14, 2020

I love your idea to clean off the driveway of material, then use a power washer to clean everything off. My spouse and I are getting a new stamped concrete driveway and we need to make sure we care for it properly. I’ll share this article with her so that we can both do our part to keep the thing well maintained for a long time.

Reply
Rebecca Gardner - April 30, 2020

Thanks for explaining that we can use natural absorbents like baking soda as an easy way to keep a concrete driveway in good shape. My husband and I want to find a concrete contractor to install a driveway leading up to the cottage home we just purchased earlier this month. I’m glad I read your article and learned how we can keep the driveway looking good without too much effort!

Reply
Travis Smith - May 4, 2020

It’s interesting to learn that you can cover your walls and doors with cardboard to protect them from pressure washing. My wife and I are wanting to make the exterior of our house look good and we were wondering how we can get the driveway pressure washed correctly. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should get the walls covered with cardboard before the driveway gets pressure washed.

Reply
Russell Mortensen - May 4, 2020

It makes sense to find concrete chemicals that are pre-made and ready to clean rather than just making your own. My brother is getting a new driveway this year and he needs to learn how to care for it properly. It thinks it’s smart to talk to his contractor about what maintenance is involved so that he can do things properly.

Reply
Jesse Ford - June 12, 2020

I like how you mentioned clearing any materials out of sight on your driveway before cleaning it. My wife and I are thinking of looking for a pressure washing specialist because we noticed the other day that our driveway was really muddy after parking my truck on it which was dirty from driving in the mountains all day. It seems like a good idea for us to think of all our options before hiring a reputable professional to help us make our home carport as clean as possible.

Reply
Tyler Johnson - June 29, 2020

That’s a good idea to use a pressure washer. I would think that would get rid of pretty might anything on the driveway. I am thinking about having a new driveway installed, so I’ll have to consider also getting a pressure washer so I could keep the new driveway nice if I end up getting one.

Reply
Faylinn - June 30, 2020

Thank you so much for mentioning how you can let the products sit overnight when you are cleaning your concrete driveway. My wife and I are working on some home remodeling and we are thinking about getting a concrete driveway for our cars. Hopefully, we will be able to find exactly what we need to we can use these tips to maintain it and keep it clean.

Reply
Drigi - July 19, 2020

Nice tips! i will remember your words

Reply
Driva - July 20, 2020

Great job mate! thanks for sharing so much information. I really liked your work! Can u tell me what kind of metarial are you using for driveway works. I really want to know, so i can apply them while doing driveway works! Thank you

Reply
Danuta Beirne - September 8, 2020

Here you will get to know about how to clean concrete driveway. This article is very knowledgeable for everyone. Here you will get to know in detail about the topic which is in demand. I enjoyed a lot while reading this article and would recommend other too.Come across Earthmovingandcivil.co.nz and hope you can visit this too to get more information.

Reply
Carl Green - September 16, 2020

It’s great to learn that you should clear your driveway before a pressure washer is used on it to be cleaned. My wife and I are wanting to make our house look spotless and we were wondering who we could hire to clean our driveway. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should look for a pressure washer in our area.

Reply
Braden Bills - October 13, 2020

I want to make sure that I take good care of my concrete driveway. It makes sense that I would want to ensure that I clean it properly! I can see how a power washer would be really good for that.

Reply
Earthworks Auckland - January 21, 2021

Thank you for sharing about how to clean concrete driveway with us, these will be really helpful to many.. I love reading this blog; it talks so much about planning a great idea about it. Keep sharing such informative articles in future, will be appreciated.Found an another website Earthmovingandcivil.co.nz it has lots of valuable information for everyone

Reply
Paving Auckland - January 28, 2021

On this blog you would get to know about how to clean concrete driveway. This is such a wonderful article. This article should be read by everyone. Really you have done a excellent job with this content.You must also check out Jagas.co.nz it has some great insights too.

Reply
Basement Digging - February 13, 2021

It discuss about how to clean up the concrete driveway. This article provides us true and insightful information regarding it. This article is very helpful. Great blog indeed, will visit again future to read more!!I am sure many people will come to read about it in future.

Reply
Pergolas Christchurch - March 29, 2021

Such a nice blog on how to clean concrete driveway and I hope you keep update us with such great tips and information in future too. This is a great post; I will share as much as I can.

Reply
Max Jones - April 26, 2021

Thanks for explaining that a pressure washer is a straightforward way of cleaning a driveway. I want to develop a concrete driveway this summer before I purchase a car. I’ll make sure to hire a professional who can help me with making a concrete driveway, and I’ll try cleaning it with a pressure washer.

Reply
Tex Hooper - May 26, 2021

I like your concrete tips. I need to get a contractor to repave my driveway. It has too many cracks in it.

Reply
Braden Bills - June 3, 2021

I want to make sure that I take good care of my concrete driveway. It makes sense that I would want to keep it nice and clean! I’ll be sure to use the right materials to ensure that I clean it properly.

Reply
Mia Evans - June 23, 2021

I like that you pointed out that keeping the driveways clean will keep you from advanced cleaning. I will keep that in mind once we get a concrete driveway installed on our property. We just need this to prevent the car from getting stuck in the dirt when it rains, which is usual in our area.

Reply
Concrete Contractor Harrisonburg - June 25, 2021

Yeah, your right. Use a hose or pressure washer to remove water, mold, or mildew stains from concrete patios and driveways. If the stains continue, make a solution of one-quarter bleach to one-gallon hot water and scrub the area with a brush, making sure to wet down neighboring foliage first to avoid runoff damage. Thoroughly wash with clean water.

Reply
Darren Knight - July 16, 2021

Thank you! This was great information. Very in depth anyone who reads this article will be more ready to clean there concretedriveway in the proper way!

Reply
Tex Hooper - September 30, 2021

I like your concrete tips. My driveway is broken. I’ll have to hire a contractor.

Reply
Millie Hue - January 22, 2022

Thanks for pointing out that we need to cover the walls and doors when we need to use pressure washers to clean the concrete. I will keep that in mind since I plan to hire concrete services to finally work on our driveway this year. It’s after saving up for this project for a year since we can’t keep on getting our car stuck in the dirt whenever it rained or rains.

Reply
Luke Smith - January 25, 2022

It was a great idea when you said to be wary of the chemicals you’re planning on using to clean your concrete driveway. My wife and I are always having troubles of parking our car whenever we go home from work, because we don’t have a driveway. That being said, we’ll definitely have ours built by a reputable concrete contractor soon.

Reply

Leave a Reply: