Cost guide
How much does jet washing cost?
Jet washing is priced by area, £2 to £5 a square metre, and quoted as a flat figure: £150 to £400 covers most patios and driveways. What moves it is the surface, because render and roof tiles are soft washed rather than pressure washed and that is a different chemical, a different rig and a different price.
Typical prices
Ranges, not quotes. A quote depends on the area and what is on it.
| Work | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Per square metre, pressure washing | £2 to £5 |
| Per square metre, soft washing | £4 to £8 |
| Patio, up to 30 square metres | £150 to £280 |
| Decking, typical garden | £120 to £250 |
| Render or cladding, typical semi | £300 to £700 |
| Minimum charge, most firms | £120 to £150 |
Say what the surface is when you ask for a price. Half the quotes in this trade are wrong because the firm assumed concrete and arrived at sandstone, and the two want different pressure, different nozzles and a different afternoon.
What moves the price
- The surface, which decides the method before the area decides the price. Block paving, sandstone, tarmac, render and decking are five answers.
- Whether it is pressure washing or soft washing. Soft washing uses chemical and dwell time rather than force and is quoted separately.
- Area, which is what the flat figure was worked out from.
- Access, water and power. A firm with its own tank and generator can reach a back garden that a hose cannot.
- How bad it is. Algae rinses; lichen and ingrained oil do not.
- Where the waste water goes, which on a sloping site is a real constraint rather than a detail.
Who quotes for it
12 of the 204 cleaning companies listed on this site take on jet washing.
Spread across: Leicester (4), Belfast (1), Bradford (1), Cardiff (1), Derby (1).
Questions about jet washing
How long does it stay clean?
Twelve to twenty-four months on a driveway, less on a north-facing patio that never dries. Sealing extends it and has to be reapplied every two or three years.
Should I have the driveway sealed?
It keeps it cleaner for longer and makes the colour deeper, and it is a commitment: once sealed, it needs resealing. On a drive you would rather not think about again for five years, leave it unsealed.