Patio cleaning, before the next gathering

What is patio cleaning?

Patio cleaning restores outdoor living floors - poured concrete, concrete pavers, brick and some stone - by removing biological film, food grease and furniture stains, then resetting joints where pavers need sand. Sound concrete can take surface-cleaner work; natural stone, soft brick and polymeric joints need a gentler plan, not a driveway wand on full blast. The success metric is a surface you will walk barefoot on and photograph for a gathering, not only a lighter colour from the street. If the “patio” is wood, that is a different service with different fibre risks.

Signs you need patio cleaning

• Green or black film makes the patio slick after rain or evening dew - guests notice traction before colour
• Rust rings from metal furniture legs and dark squares under planters will not sweep or mop away
• Grill grease and oil spatters have soaked the cooking zone and smell when the sun hits the stone
• Paver joints are weedy, washed out or growing moss in the shade of a pergola or house wall
• You are hosting, listing or photographing outdoor rooms and the floor is the first thing guests see
• Leaf tannin stains map the tree canopy in permanent-looking blotches that lighten only with treatment
• Furniture castors have left grey paths while the field under rugs is a different colour entirely
• Irrigation overspray has left white mineral rings along the edge that faces the lawn sprinklers

Seeing something not on this list? Browse pressure washing problems by symptom →

How patio cleaning actually works

1. 1

   Identify surface and joint system

   Poured slab, sand-set pavers, mortar-set stone and sealed decorative concrete each set pressure, chemistry and aftercare. Polymeric sand changes how aggressive the clean can be; soft flagstone and soft brick forgive almost nothing. A competent walkthrough names the assembly out loud before quoting a single method.

   Watch forA driveway recipe applied to flagstone with soft pointing. Joints hollow out, stones loosen, and the “clean” patio becomes a trip hazard within a season.

2. 2

   Clear the outdoor room

   Furniture, rugs, grills and planters come off. Cover or relocate what cannot move. Stains under stationary pieces are marked for pre-treatment so the crew does not discover a dirty island after the rest of the field is bright.

   Watch forCleaning around heavy furniture “to save time.” You get a clean border and a permanent dirty rectangle that photographs worse than an unwashed patio.

3. 3

   Pre-treat grease, rust and organics

   Grill pads, rust plumes and heavy algae get chemistry and dwell before mechanical cleaning. Food grease often wants heat or dedicated degreasers; biological film wants dwell, not only force. Rushing straight to a surface cleaner on a cooking patio is how grease blooms reappear after the first rain.

   Watch forPressure-only bids on a cooking patio. Grease laughs at cold water, and turning up PSI only etches the paste around the stain.

4. 4

   Even clean, then restore paver joints

   Surface cleaning lightens the field; edges and under-rail shadows are detailed by hand. On sand-set pavers, joint sand is replaced and activated if the system requires it - that step is part of leaving a stable outdoor room, not an optional cosmetic extra.

   Watch forPavers left with empty joints. The patio looks better for a week and moves underfoot for a year as water and freeze cycles work the open joints.

5. 5

   Optional seal timing after true dry-down

   Sealing can help stain resistance on some concrete and paver systems but only after the assembly is dry through, not merely surface-dry in the sun. Entertaining schedules should never force same-day sealer; haze and trapped moisture show up hardest under party lighting.

   Watch forSame-afternoon seal upsells on a still-damp patio. Milky haze is a party killer and often a callback nobody budgeted.

What does patio cleaning cost?

Patio cleaning is usually priced by area and surface type, with rust pre-treatment, grease work, re-sanding and sealing as separate lines. Furniture-heavy or multi-level terraces take longer. See the Cost Guide for exterior cleaning quote structure.

See the full patio cleaning cost guide - by material, size and region →

If the number is the problem, here are the ways people pay for it →