How Much to Pressure Wash a Driveway (Per Sq Ft)

What moves the price inside the range

The rate is per square foot, so start with the area. Multiply the length by the width. A driveway 24 feet wide and 25 feet long is 600 sq ft. Add the apron, a parking pad and any walk that you want in the same job. Then these factors move the price toward one end of the range or the other.

• Stains. Biological film and general dirt come off in one pass. Oil, rust and leaf tannin each take a separate pre-treatment and dwell time before the main pass. At WashLabs, that stain treatment is an extra charge on top of the per-square-foot rate.
• Condition of the concrete. Sound, younger concrete cleans quickly and evenly. Old, porous concrete holds stains deeper and takes more time for a less uniform result.
• Layout. A plain rectangle is fast. Turnarounds, curbs, aprons and joints to walks and steps add edge work. Edge work takes more time per square foot than the open slab.
• Slope and runoff. A driveway that slopes to the garage door or to a neighbor's lawn needs the water directed while the work goes on.
• Water and access. The job needs a working spigot with good flow, and room to park the equipment. If the drive is the only access to the house, the cars must move before the work starts.
• Edges. Lawn, beds, a stone walk or a painted garage door at the edge each need protection and a rinse.

Worked example, for illustration only: the same 600 sq ft drive at $0.25 per sq ft is $150, and at $0.55 per sq ft it is $330. A young, plain slab with light grime sits near the bottom. An old, shaded slab under a tree sits near the top, and any oil or rust treatment is added on top of the rate.

The published rates for all surfaces are on the pricing page.

Why do two quotes for the same driveway differ?

Two quotes for the same driveway can differ by a factor of two, and frequently neither contractor is wrong. Square footage is the multiplier. The stains and the concrete set the work.

When you compare quotes, compare the same scope:

• Is stain treatment included, or a separate charge? At WashLabs it is an extra charge on top of the rate. Ask each contractor the same question, so you compare the same job.
• What equipment does the main pass use? A surface cleaner gives an even result. A hand wand on a large slab leaves arc marks.
• Is sealing included, optional or assumed? Sealing is a different job with its own drying time.
• Are the apron, walk and garage threshold in or out?
• What gets protected and rinsed at the edges?
• What does the contractor say the drive will look like after? A contractor who tells you an old oil shadow will stay tells you the truth. A promise of a like-new surface on thirty-year-old concrete is not.

A test patch is the most useful thing to ask for on a stained driveway. It changes an argument about expectations into a look at the real result.

How do you clean a concrete driveway?

The method is the same whether you do it or hire it out. The order matters more than the pressure.

1. Clear the drive. Sweep off leaves, grit and loose debris, and move the cars.
2. Wet the lawn and beds at the edges.
3. Pre-treat the stains. Put a degreaser on oil and let it dwell. Rust takes a rust-specific cleaner. Green and black film takes a cleaning solution with dwell time.
4. Clean the open slab with a surface cleaner, not a wand. The spray stays under the hood, so the slab cleans evenly with no stripes.
5. Clean the edges, joints and steps with a wand where the surface cleaner does not reach.
6. Rinse the slab, the edges and the plants, and send the water away from the garage.
7. Let the slab dry all the way through before any sealer goes on.

Clean the house before the drive. Water from a siding or roof wash runs down onto the slab, and a clean drive gets dirty again.

Concrete can take high pressure. WashLabs equipment runs up to 4,000 PSI. The surface cleaner, not the pressure number, is what makes the result even. See how pressure washing works on concrete, brick and stone at WashLabs.

For example, a 600 sq ft drive at the low end of the rate is $150 for the main pass, and oil, rust or leaf stain treatment is an extra charge on top of that. The algae on a driveway is worst where the slab is shaded or under large trees, and those areas turn green again first.

Which stains come out, and which leave a shadow

Each stain type needs its own treatment, and each one has a realistic result.

• Green and black film (algae and mildew). The most treatable. It comes off with a cleaning solution and dwell time. Under trees and on shaded slabs, it grows back first. Our guide to removing algae from shaded walkways covers the slip risk.
• General dirt and tire marks. A surface cleaner pass removes these.
• Oil and transmission fluid. Oil goes into the concrete. A degreaser and dwell time, sometimes two applications, lighten it a lot. Oil that sat in the slab for years frequently leaves a shadow.
• Rust. It comes from fertilizer, metal furniture, planters, or rebar too near the surface. A rust-specific treatment removes most of it. Rust from rebar comes back.
• Leaf and mulch tannin. Brown stains under trees and along bed edges. The correct chemistry lightens them, but frequently not all the way.
• Efflorescence. The white bloom is mineral salt, not dirt. It shows that moisture moves up through the slab.
• Paint, sealer drips and construction residue. These usually need scraping or a stripper, not a wash.

Where pressure washing is the wrong tool

Do not pressure wash spalled or scaling concrete with a close tip. The wash lifts more of the loose surface, and the slab looks worse before it looks better.

Do not put acid on stamped or colored concrete. Acid strips the color.

Do not seal over a slab that is not fully clean. The sealer locks the stains in.

Do not seal a slab that is still damp. The finish turns cloudy.

Do not expect a wash to fix cracks, settled sections or a patched slab that never matched. Those are concrete repairs. For pavers, the order of cleaning, sand and sealer is different. See how to prepare brick pavers for re-sanding or sealing.

Text a photo of the driveway and its rough size to (610) 665-3995. We reply within 24 hours.