Yes, we come to Portlaoise
We take on power washing in Portlaoise and the towns around it as part of our work across Leinster. The work is much the same as anywhere else: drives, patios, walls and roofs that have spent a few midlands winters getting greener.
Because Portlaoise is further out than most of our jobs, we agree the date when we send the price. A little notice helps, especially in spring, when everyone wants the winter's green gone at once.
Typical Portlaoise jobs:
- Estate driveways, mostly block paving and concrete (driveway cleaning)
- Rendered and pebble-dashed walls, soft washed at low pressure
- Roofs with moss on the shaded slope (roof cleaning)
- Patios and paths at the back of the house (patio cleaning)
Soft wash or pressure wash?
A lot of the houses around Portlaoise are rendered or pebble-dashed, with concrete tiled roofs and block-paved or concrete drives. That mix means one visit can call for two different methods, and choosing the wrong one does damage.
| Part of the house | Method | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Block paving, concrete drives, paths | Hot-water pressure wash | Tough surfaces; hot water lifts moss, algae and grime from blocks and joints |
| Sandstone and slab patios | Hot water, pressure matched to the stone | Softer stone marks if it's blasted |
| Render, pebble-dash, painted walls | Low-pressure soft wash | High pressure can mark render and drive water into cracks |
| Roof tiles | Moss removal, no high-pressure blasting | Blasting wears the surface of concrete tiles |
| uPVC fascias, soffits, gutters | Low-pressure wash | Plastic scuffs, and high pressure can force gutter joints apart |
If you're not sure what your walls are, send a close-up photo and we'll tell you. There's more on how a soft wash works on our soft washing page.
Roof moss: what cleaning can and can't do
Moss on a roof isn't only about looks. Thick cushions hold water against the tiles, clog the gutters when they wash down, and can lift the edges of tiles over time. On a lot of Portlaoise semis and bungalows, it's worst on the slope that faces north or sits under a tree.
Cleaning takes the moss and the green film off and leaves the tiles looking much brighter, as in the photos below. It won't fix cracked tiles or tired pointing, and it won't stop moss growing back in a few years on a shaded slope. We'll tell you about anything we notice that needs a roofer.
spotless.ieThe moss that comes off a roof usually ends up in the gutters, which is why we clear the gutters and downpipes as part of a roof job and wash down the paving underneath before we leave. For moss on walls, steps and paths, see moss removal.
Estate driveways and back gardens
Portlaoise grew quickly during the 2000s as a commuter town on the M7 and the Dublin rail line, and a lot of its housing dates from then, in estates like Kilminchy and those off the Dublin, Abbeyleix and Mountrath roads. Those estates mean plenty of block-paved drives that are now twenty years old, with sunken joints, moss along the edges and oil marks where the cars sit.
Hot water lifts the moss and grime and clears the joints. Expect the joints to look a little lower afterwards, since sand comes out along with the growth, and expect deep oil stains to fade rather than vanish. Out the back, the same estates tend to have concrete or sandstone patios that go slippery every winter, especially where a fence or a shed keeps them in shade.
Around Portlaoise
Out of town, towards the Slieve Bloom side or out past the Rock of Dunamase, houses are more often bungalows and farmhouses with longer drives and bigger roofs. Those jobs take longer, but they're usually easy to reach with the van.
Weather matters more for walls and roofs than for paving. A soft wash needs a dry spell to work properly, so a wet week can move a date. If that happens, we'll let you know on WhatsApp and agree the next dry slot with you.
A few things that help with any Laois job:
- photos of each area, plus one wide shot that shows how the van gets in
- where the outside tap is, and if the house is on a well or a group water scheme
- any gate codes, dogs or livestock we should know about
Send your Portlaoise photos WhatsApp a few pictures and your Eircode. You'll get a fixed price, usually the same day, along with suggested dates.
Every surface we clean is listed on our power washing page.
