How to Power Wash Your Sidewalks & Decrease the Risk of Damage

How to Power Wash Your Sidewalks and Decrease the Risk of Damage

Just like your home, your sidewalks can get grimy and dirty from the season change, cars and foot traffic, the weather, area construction, and other factors. If you live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, then you know pollen can also cause your home and sidewalks to look dingy and gray, as well as become slippery. One way to counter this is to perform concrete cleaning and sidewalk cleaning. In this short guide, you will be informed of the top four ways to power wash your sidewalks and decrease the risk of damage.  

  1. Have an assistant

One of the best ways to reduce damage to your sidewalks and concrete slabs when you are power washing is to have an assistant to help you. An assistant can be getting the surfaces ready to be power washed. This includes picking up twigs and sticks up off of the sidewalks. They could also be using a dirt and leaf blower to rid excess debris from the sidewalks before cleaning. Lastly, they can assist you with the water, solution, and sprayer once you start the process of sidewalk cleaning as well as concrete cleaning.  

  1. Use low pressure

One way to damage your sidewalks is by using high pressure at a close angle to the pavement and sidewalks. Make sure to use low pressure when pressure washing the sidewalks or you could cause cracks in the concrete, which will deteriorate and cause you to replace the slab in the end. Pre-clean your concrete surface and use a solution on the sidewalks to remove as much grime as possible.  

  1. Hire the task out to a professional

Just as you would take your car to a mechanic or your child to a pediatrician, when your surfaces need a deep clean, call the pros.  Concrete cleaning and sidewalk cleaning can be dangerous if done by a novice who has never pressure washed before.

  1. Use a solution to kill fungus and other microscopic organisms

One of the best methods to prevent grime, eliminate slipperiness, and reduce the risk of damage to your sidewalks and concrete slabs is to use a fungicide solution. You want to use a fungicide in your solution to kill the fungal and bacterial spores that can live on your sidewalk and driveway. If you use a solution without bleach or other fungicidal agents in it, the concrete may appear clean, but the fungus will remain and grow back time and time again.  

Concrete cleaning and sidewalk cleaning may sound easy to perform on your own, but they can be dangerous to a novice. If you follow our advice on the top four ways to power wash your sidewalks and decrease the risk of damage, you will have the cleanest and brightest sidewalks in all of Cincinnati!