DIY Concrete Cleaning Gold Coast – How to do it like a professional
DIY Concrete Cleaning Gold Coast: How to do a concrete cleaning job like a professional.
Concrete needs to be maintained just like any other surface of your home. After a few years your concrete driveway or other surface can get pretty tired and dull looking. Grease and oil spills can also add to slipping hazards; as can black mould that begins to appear on the surface.
This blog aims to give you all our best tips for cleaning your own concrete surface to make it look like new again.
This includes professional high pressure washing of concrete driveways, stamp-crete, pebble-crete, concrete pavers and any other concrete surface.
Why a cold water concrete power wash isn’t good enough
Concrete is a porous material that absorbs moisture. Therefore dirt, grime, and water can easily penetrate into the depths of your concrete driveway, parking area, or concrete patio. Moisture plus the Gold Coast’s humid climate adds up to bacteria and mould. Like the black mould you can see on the surface of your concrete driveway, for example.
The only way to get rid of this mould is to attack the bacteria that’s causing it.
Cold water doesn’t do this. After all, can you imaging cleaning your dirty dishes in your kitchen sink with cold water? It’s the same for your concrete if you really want to get rid of the root cause.
Therefore you’re going to need hot water.
A mop and bucket, however won’t do the trick you’re going to need a high pressure cleaner to really clean your concrete surface like a professional. See more below.
How to wash concrete with hot water
DIY Concrete Cleaning Gold Coast: You can always use a bucket of hot water (make sure it stays hot throughout the clean!) and some good old fashioned elbow grease. It will take a lot of time and be fairly uncomfortable work (scratch any social plans for the weekend); but it is possible. Make sure you budget for a massage afterwards.
Also with this method, it’s unlikely you will get enough pressure to adequately penetrate deep into the concrete’s surface to really tackle the bacteria down there.
Therefore, we recommend you hire some concrete cleaning equipment like these water blasters from Coates hire shown to the right. You want a machine that’s between 2,000PSI and 4,000PSI and can continuously delivery hot water at 100 degrees celsius.
Our advice on professional concrete cleaning equipment
Equipment can be hired for as little as $147, however you want to make sure you’ve considered all the costs associated with high pressure equipment hire. When hiring equipment, make sure you …
- Budget for your other equipment required. Usually you will additionally need…
- a ute to transport that high pressure cleaning equipment and/or the water tank to store water
- Safety gear such as suitable eye protection, ear protection and gloves
- Extender hoses for your machine for those hard-to-reach places
- Chemicals to assist with killing bacteria and giving a professional clean
- Get a hot water, high pressure machine for cleaning your concrete driveway or other concrete surface area
- Ensure hot water can be used consistently at 100 degrees celsius
- Get a machine with a spec of between 2,000PSI to 4,000PSI
- Ask advice at the place of hire on best use and safety instructions
The staff at Coates or Kennards can give you advice on what machine is best for your surface; as it will depend on a number of factors as to which is the most appropriate.
Call us anytime on 07 5609 6698 for your FREE professional and economical Gold Coast Concrete Cleaning or Concrete Resurfacing quote.
Astute Asset Management
Cleaning chemicals – do you need them for your DIY Concrete Cleaning Gold Coast job?
The answer really depends! If you want a professional job done, then our answer is definitely YES!
So which ones do you choose?
We recommend using SoSafe chemicals. They are eco-friendly and extremely effective.
You will need to make sure you …
- get the right chemical for the job – they have a variety of different types. For example you may need a degreaser and we recommend the SoSafe range as they feature a:
- Quick Break Formulation
- Non-Toxic
- Non-Flammable
- Non-Corrosive
- Non DG
- Biodegradable
- Use the right concentration of the required chemical
- Here at Astute Asset Management, we’ve been certified in the use of the varied range of chemicals so can help if you need choosing the one that will suit your job.
Do I need to use a concrete Sealer for my DIY Concrete Cleaning Gold Coast job?
Once your high pressure cleaning is complete, the best way to keep your concrete surface looking great is to seal and protect it. If you want a professional job done, adding a concrete sealer is a good idea. A concrete sealant can make sure that your concrete driveway or other surface is maintained in tip-top condition for longer.
The pictures on the left show a Stamp-crete driveway that has been cleaned with a hot water, high pressure washer, and sealed with a coloured sealant. This can add huge value to your property. It can also keep your driveway slip-free for longer; as the sealant closes the pores of the concrete. Therefore water is less able to penetrate into the concrete causing bacteria and mould to form.
Our preferred supplier for sealants is Parchem Colour Sealants. There is over 26 different types of sealant to choose from – depending on your surface and needs. We recommend you speak to Parchem to determine what is best for you.
Oops! This all sounds a bit hard…
We’ve tried to be as helpful as we can. As you can see – there’s quite a bit more to a professional concrete clean than meets the eye!
Our professional team lead by Ben Walkom has had over 9 years experience in hot water pressure cleaning from jobs at home to large -scale – industrial and commercial pressure cleaning jobs.
His prices are actually more economical than you think! And you needn’t have to worry about ruining your surfaces by selecting the wrong equipment, chemicals or sealer.
Call Ben and his team anytime on 07 5609 6698 for your FREE professional and economical Gold Coast Concrete Cleaning or Concrete Resurfacing quote
See here for related articles on high pressure cleaning concrete and other home surfaces:
- Concrete Cleaning Gold Coast – Astute Asset Management’s professional and economical services
- How to get your home exterior ready for summer entertaining without breaking the bank
- House washing 101: 6 Mistakes home owners make and how to avoid them
- Driveway Cleaning and Mould Removal