Okay, let me tell you about my adventure with power washing the concrete. It was a long time coming, believe me.

Getting Started and Realizing the Mess

So, the driveway and the patio, man, they were looking rough. Like, seriously neglected. Years of dirt, some green slimy stuff growing in the shady spots, who knows what else. Every time I looked at it, I just thought, "Ugh, gotta do something about this." Finally, I bit the bullet. My neighbor, Dave, he’s got one of these power washer thingamajigs, and he’s always raving about it. I figured, why not give it a shot?

The Prep Work – More Than I Thought

First things first, I had to clear everything off. And I mean everything. Planters, the old grill, a couple of forgotten kids' toys. Swept it all down too. You don’t want to be blasting pebbles into your windows, right? That took a good hour or so, more than I expected. Then I borrowed Dave’s machine. He gave me a quick rundown, which was basically, "Point it away from your face and don't cut your toes off." Helpful.

Figuring Out the Beast

Hooking up the hoses wasn't too bad. Water in, high-pressure hose out. Pulled the cord a few times, and vrooom, the thing roared to life. Loud! Way louder than I thought it’d be. I played around with the nozzles a bit. There were a few, and Dave said to start with a wider spray so I didn't accidentally etch my name into the concrete. Good advice, probably.

The Actual Washing – Let the Fun Begin!

Okay, so I started on a corner of the patio that wasn’t too visible, just to get the hang of it. And wow! The difference was immediate. It was like drawing a clean line through years of grime. I got into a rhythm: slow, steady sweeps. You gotta overlap your strokes, otherwise you get these weird zebra stripes.

• I found that holding the nozzle at a bit of an angle worked best.
• Going too close felt like it was almost too harsh, so I backed off a bit.
• The amount of dirt and gunk that came off was insane. It turned into this muddy river flowing down the driveway.

It was actually pretty satisfying, seeing the clean concrete emerge. Like one of those satisfying cleaning videos, but in real life, and I was the one getting soaked. Yeah, you definitely get wet doing this. And muddy. My shoes were a lost cause pretty quickly.

Tackling the Tough Spots and the Driveway

Some spots were tougher. There were these dark, almost black stains. I had to go over them a few times, getting a bit closer with the nozzle. For the driveway, which had some oily patches, I actually pre-treated it with some degreaser I had in the garage. Let that sit for a bit, then hit it with the power washer. It helped, for sure. Not perfect, but way better.

The whole process took a good chunk of the day. My back was a bit sore, and my hands were vibrating even after I turned the machine off. It's more of a workout than you'd think!

The Aftermath and Final Thoughts

Once I was done, I rinsed everything down one last time, pushing all that dirty water away. Let me tell you, when it started to dry, the difference was night and day. The concrete looked almost new. Brighter, cleaner, just… better. It made the whole house look a bit sharper, you know?

Clean-up for me involved:

• Hosing myself down.
• Cleaning the power washer a bit before giving it back to Dave.
• Feeling pretty chuffed with myself, actually.

So yeah, power washing concrete. It’s a messy job, a bit loud, and takes some effort. But the results? Totally worth it. My patio and driveway haven't looked this good in years. I'm already thinking about what else I can blast clean. Maybe the fence next?