Driveway and patio cleaning in Carlow
In Carlow, the two areas that usually need it most are the driveway at the front and the patio at the back. Across the estates on the edges of Carlow town and in the towns around the county, you'll find every kind of paving, and each one needs its own approach.
| Surface | What usually goes wrong | How we clean it |
|---|---|---|
| Block paving and cobble-lock | Moss in the joints, green film, tyre marks | Hot-water pressure wash, joints cleared |
| Plain or brushed concrete | Algae, oil drips, rust marks | Hot water; old oil lightens rather than vanishes |
| Tarmac | Moss along the edges, a dull green film | Washed with care so loose stone isn't lifted |
| Sandstone and natural stone patios | Black and green staining, slippery in winter | Hot water, with pressure matched to the stone |
| Render and painted walls | Green and red algae streaks | Low-pressure soft wash |
Where the surface allows, hot water on its own does the cleaning, with no chemicals, which matters on a patio next to the lawn or a vegetable bed. For the detail on each surface, see driveway cleaning and patio cleaning.
spotless.ieRed algae on walls and paving
Red algae catches a lot of people out. It shows up as orange to red-brown staining, often in streaks down a rendered wall, along the base of a garden wall, or as a rusty tint across paving that stays damp. It's common on Irish houses, and Carlow is no exception.
It likes shade and moisture, so you'll usually find it:
- on north-facing walls and the shady side of the garden
- under windowsills and below leaking gutters or overflow pipes
- on paving beside hedges, sheds and boundary walls
- on painted surfaces and timber fences
On render and painted walls, we use a low-pressure soft wash rather than force, which can damage the finish. On paving, hot water usually lifts it. Old, heavy staining can sit deep in porous stone or render, so it may fade rather than disappear completely on the day, and we'll say so before you book.
To slow it coming back, deal with the water source. A gutter that overflows onto the same patch of wall every winter will keep feeding it, which is why it's worth clearing the gutters at the same time. If moss is building up on the roof as well, our roof cleaning page explains what we do.
Tarmac drives: cleaned, not sealed
Tarmac is popular on Carlow driveways, especially on one-off houses outside the towns. Over time it goes dull and green, and moss creeps in from the edges.
We clean tarmac carefully. Older or worn tarmac can have loose stone on the surface, so it gets a controlled wash rather than a blast. To be clear about scope: we don't seal, re-dress or resurface tarmac. A clean will show you what condition the drive is really in, and if it needs resurfacing, that's a job for a surfacing contractor. Our tarmac cleaning page has more.
Carlow town and the county
In Carlow town, many of the estates sit off the main roads in, such as the Tullow Road, the Kilkenny Road and the Athy Road, with Graiguecullen across the Barrow. Expect block-paved drives, small back gardens with slab patios, and plenty of rental houses near the college, where landlords want things clean between tenants.
Out in the county, around Tullow, Bagenalstown, Leighlinbridge and Borris, it's more likely to be a bungalow or farmhouse with a long tarmac or concrete drive, a big patio and a yard. Those jobs take longer, so we'll give you a realistic time with the price.
On farms, we can also wash concrete yards and the outside walls and doors of sheds, which is handy before a sale, a family occasion or simply after a long wet winter. Tell us where the yard drains, and if you're on a well or a group water scheme, so we can plan the water and the run-off properly.
Send us your Carlow photos A wide shot and a close-up of each area, plus your Eircode, is enough. We'll come back with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Getting a price
Photos are all we need for most Carlow jobs. Show us the whole area and the worst part of it, and let us know about access, parking and the nearest outside tap. The price is fixed and agreed before we book a date. Our guide to how power washing is priced explains what affects it, and the power washing overview lists every surface we clean.
