Five Tips for Cleaning Your Driveway

Your driveway. It might not be something you think about constantly, but it does a lot more than just provide space for parked cars, or a path to your garage. It’s literally your own personal road, leading to your home. Along with your yard, it’s likely the first thing people will notice about your house. And that means it’s essential to maintaining your curb appeal. 

But as important as your driveway may be, it’s often one of the most overlooked parts of your home. While you regularly make a point to clean just about everything, from your kitchen to your gutters, many people completely forget about the driveway. And a sad looking driveway leads to a sad looking house. 

Simply put, you need to start cleaning your driveway.  

There are a lot of things to consider when cleaning your driveway, but we’ve narrowed it down to five essential tips that should help keep your driveway in tip top shape. 

Gather the Following Supplies

You’ll want to make sure you have a handful of supplies to clean up any and all stains and discolorations you may find on your driveway. Those supplies include—

• A bucket

• Biodegradable soap or detergent

• A scrubbing brush

• Sawdust or cat litter

• Degreaser 

• A clean towel or cloth

• A sturdy push broom

You may not eventually use all of these supplies (that will depend a lot on how dirty your driveway is, and what tools you’ll be using) they’re always good to have on hand to make sure you add some sparkle to your driveway. 

Look for Isolated Spots on Your Driveway

The first thing you should do, once you’ve decided to clean your driveway, is to look for any noticeable spots or stains. These are the first things you should be cleaning, as they will make the most difference to your driveway’s appearance once they’ve been removed. 

Just walk along your driveway and determine what areas stand out to you as looking stained, or dirtier than the rest of the pavement, concrete, or whatever material makes up your driveway. You can make note of it, or if you want to be very thorough, you can take some sidewalk chalk and circle areas you’ll want to be sure to focus on. 

This serves two functions—it helps guide your eventual cleaning, and you’ll also know that if any chalk remains after you’ve washed down the area, you probably haven’t cleaned it enough. 

Determine What Kind of Stains You’re Cleaning

Once you’ve established the “problem areas” of your driveway, you’ll want to determine what kind of stains you’re cleaning up. Stains from car fluids and motor oil need something absorbent to stop the stain from seeping into the driveway—that’s where cat litter comes up, since you can use that to soak up most of the fluids or oils before doing a more intensive cleaning with biodegradable soap or detergent. 

Similarly, if you’re cleaning up organic debris, and stains left by leaves or mud, you’ll be using your broom to clear any material or debris, and then your detergent or soap mixed with warm water in your bucket to finish cleaning the area. 

You might also find rust if you have a concrete driveway, which will require special materials (we recommend mixing muriatic acid with water to clean those stains). Paint stains will depend on the type of paint—a latex-based paint is relatively easy to clean, but acrylic and oil paints might require covering the stain with asphalt sealer, since paint thinners can actually damage asphalt and pavement. 

The key is to know what kind of stains you’re dealing with, so you can form a proper plan of action and clean your driveway without damaging it. 

If You Have One, Use a Power Washer

No matter what you’re cleaning from your driveway, the most efficient way to clean it is always the same: use a power washer. While you can always hire professional power washers, power washing is something that can be done by anyone at their home, assuming they have the right equipment. 

If you already own a power washer, you’re in luck. You’ll want to put detergent into your washer, following the manufacturer's instructions. Then you just want to wash down the entire driveway (the best part of having a power washer? You don’t have to worry about your isolated spots nearly as much, because you’ll be able to effectively clean the whole driveway all at once). 

Let the detergent soak for about ten minutes before going through once more with a 25-degree tip. This should clean most of the driveway, but a few of those stains might linger. To remove those, use your 15-degree tip, and blast those areas until they are as good as new. 

Of course, if you don’t have a power washer, but are considering buying one, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth, since a power washer can be used for much more than just cleaning your driveway. 

Cleaning your Driveway Without a Power Washer

Now, most people don’t have a power washer, and you might not want to spend the money to hire a professional or purchase a power washer. And that’s okay! You might need to use a little more elbow grease, but you can still effectively clean your driveway. 

First, you’ll want to get a high pressure nozzle that can be used on your garden hose. If price is a concern for you, don’t worry! Almost all of the most popular nozzles available are under $30, and you can get a perfectly acceptable one for just $10.

Next, using your push broom, clear any dirt and debris from the driveway. If you can get washing soda, we’d recommend it, but if not, you can use your detergent or soap, mix it with water, and use your scrubbing brush to scrub your entire driveway. Don’t be shy here, you’ll want to brush with as much force as you can to really take away those dirt and stains, focusing on those isolated spots you’ve previously identified.

Finally, using a garden hose with a high pressure nozzle, wash down the entire driveway, paying particular attention to the stains you’ve worked on the most. It may take a little longer than using a power washer, and it might require a little more manual labor, but you should come away with a gorgeous, clean driveway that can be the envy of your neighbors. 

No matter how you go about cleaning your driveway, you’ll notice the difference immediately. It will make your yard and your home instantly look cleaner and more fresh. So if you’ve been neglecting your driveway lately, it’s time to make a change, and clean that driveway.

Guest Contributor: Jeff Good