Alright, let me tell you about tackling my driveway the other day. It was looking pretty sad, honestly. Lots of green stuff, some old stains, just generally grubby from winter and everything else.

Getting Started

First thing, I had to wheel the pressure washer out of the shed. Thing’s heavier than it looks. Hooked up the garden hose to the inlet, made sure it was tight. Then connected the high-pressure hose to the machine and the spray gun. Checked the oil and gas, topped up the gas because I knew this would take a while.

Before firing it up, I swept the whole driveway. Got rid of loose leaves, twigs, little stones. No point blasting that stuff all over the place or clogging the nozzle. I also moved the cars way down the street and told the family to stay clear. Safety first, right?

The Washing Bit

I decided to start with a wider angle nozzle, I think it was the green one? Didn't want to etch the concrete right away. Turned on the water supply, squeezed the trigger to get the air out, then yanked the cord to start the engine. Took a couple of pulls, but it roared to life.

Started at the top corner, near the garage. Held the wand at an angle, maybe a foot or so away from the surface. Made slow, overlapping passes. It’s kind of satisfying watching that grime just peel away. You see the clean concrete underneath, it’s like magic.

Consistency is key here. You gotta keep the distance and speed about the same, otherwise you get ugly stripes and lines. Learned that the hard way before. Just worked my way down, section by section. Some oily spots near where the old car used to leak needed a bit more attention. For those, I switched to a slightly narrower nozzle (the yellow one, I think?) and got a bit closer. Had to be careful though, didn't want to damage the surface.

Dealing with Stubborn Stuff

There was some really stubborn green algae in one shaded corner. The pressure alone wasn't quite cutting it. So, I shut the machine off for a bit.

• Grabbed some driveway detergent I had.
• Poured it into the machine's detergent tank (mine has one, luckily).
• Switched to the special low-pressure soap nozzle (usually black).
• Started the washer back up and sprayed the detergent all over the tough spots and honestly, most of the driveway.

Let that sit for about 10-15 minutes. The instructions said so. Just let it soak in and do its thing. Didn't let it dry out, though.

Rinsing and Finishing

Switched back to the green cleaning nozzle. Went back over the whole driveway again, starting from the top, rinsing all that detergent and loosened dirt down towards the street. Took my time with this, wanted to make sure all the soap was gone. You don't want that stuff drying on there.

Once the whole thing was rinsed clean, I gave the garage doors and the bottom edge of the house siding a quick rinse too, just to get rid of any splashback.

Turned off the engine, then turned off the water supply. Squeezed the trigger one last time to release the pressure in the hose. Disconnected everything, coiled up the hoses. Wiped down the machine a bit before putting it back in the shed. Left the driveway to dry.

Took a good couple of hours, maybe more. Bit of an ache in my back afterwards. But man, the difference is huge. The driveway looks almost new again. Definitely worth the effort, even if it is noisy work.