The surfaces high pressure ruins. Low pressure and the right chemistry instead — because etching is permanent and there is no undoing it.
Travertine and sandstone are soft. Put a high-pressure jet across them and you do not clean the surface, you erode it — leaving fine wand marks, a pitted texture, and a patchy finish where the tool lingered. It is not dirt you are looking at afterwards. It is missing stone.
Freshly laid concrete has the same problem for a different reason. Until it has properly cured, the surface paste is soft enough that pressure lifts it off, exposing the aggregate underneath in blotches. Once that has happened, the only real fix is resurfacing.
Neither of these is reversible. That is why we treat them as a different service rather than another driveway.
We can often improve the appearance of etched stone by cleaning it evenly so the damage is less obvious. We cannot put the stone back. Anyone who tells you they can restore etched travertine with a pressure washer is selling you a second round of the same damage.
Chemistry does the lifting, water only rinses. Slower, more expensive per square metre, and the only method that leaves the surface as it was.
Pool surrounds and alfresco areas. Low-pressure chemical clean that lifts organic growth and grime out of the pores without opening them up further.
Paths, steps and retaining walls. Common on the older Chelmer and Graceville properties, and almost always soft enough to need this approach.
New driveways and slabs that need the builder’s mess off before the surface has cured. Handled gently, or left alone until it is ready.
Jetties, pontoons and decks. It looks like a strange request and it is one of our favourite jobs to photograph.
Outdoor privacy blinds and electric roller shutters, both of which pressure would wreck in seconds.
Faded acrylic and hard-court surfaces brought back without stripping the coating.
More of these in the gallery, under “the unusual stuff”.
Send a photo before anyone touches it. If it should be left alone we will say so, and that advice costs you nothing.
