Home → Services → Pressure Cleaning
Our core service
Concrete in this city doesn't just get dirty — it gets stained. Red Ferrosol soil works into the surface, and the fog and dew that make Toowoomba gardens grow do exactly the same for the algae on your driveway. A hose won't touch either.
The pressure difference
Most operators run one machine at one setting and make every surface fit it. That's why you see wand marks striped across concrete, stripped render, and pavers with the jointing sand blasted out.
We match the pressure and the nozzle to the surface. High pressure through a flat surface cleaner for driveways, paths and shed slabs — even coverage with no zebra striping, and far faster than working freehand with a lance.
Low-pressure soft washing for render, weatherboard, Colorbond and roofs, where the cleaning is done by the treatment rather than the force of the water. Turbo and rotary nozzles only where the surface can genuinely take them.
Then hot water and degreaser for oil and grease, and a dedicated pre-treatment for organic growth so moss, algae and lichen die at the root instead of being knocked off the top.
On most properties we'll use two or three of these in a single visit. That's what gives a consistent result across the whole place rather than just the easy parts.
Two things decide how a surface should be cleaned: what it's made of, and how long it's been left. Our soft wash versus pressure wash guide sets out which method suits which surface, and the pressure cleaning cost page explains what moves a price.
Every single job
No surprise extras for the basics. Pre-treatment and rinse-down are part of the job, not add-ons.
Getting it right
It depends far more on aspect and shade than on the calendar. The shaded south side of a house here can go visibly green within a year while the sunny north side still looks fine after three.
Driveways, paths and patios: every one to two years. Sooner if you're under trees or on the shaded side of the block.
House exteriors: every two to three years for a soft wash. Toowoomba's fog and heavy dew keep render damp for hours after sunrise, which is exactly what mould and algae need — so houses here need it more often than they would down on the coastal plain.
Roofs and solar panels: worth checking every year. Lichen on a tile roof holds moisture against the surface and is far cheaper to remove than to leave.
The part most people get wrong
Turning the pressure up is the most common mistake we see, and it causes more problems than it solves. High pressure strips the top coat off render, blasts the jointing sand out of pavers, raises the grain on timber, and leaves permanent wand marks across concrete you can read from the footpath.
The right chemistry at low pressure does the opposite: it kills the growth at the root, lifts staining out of the surface, and leaves the surface itself untouched.
That matters especially on Toowoomba's older rendered homes and on the exposed aggregate that went into so many driveways here. We use the gentlest method that will actually do the job — which is usually not the loudest one.
One-off work
Not every job is ongoing. We take on first cleans on badly neglected surfaces — no driveway is too far gone, and we won't turn down a job because it's a mess. Plus pre-sale and pre-inspection cleans, vacate and tenant changeover work for rentals and property managers, and one-off tidy-ups before an event.
Heavily stained surfaces take more on the first visit, then settle into normal maintenance pricing once they're back under control.
Regular clients sit on an automated recurring schedule in our job-management software, so services don't get forgotten. You get a reminder with your ETA the day before, an on-the-way message on the day, and an invoice after the job — no chasing cash at the gate.
Pricing
Every quote is free and no-obligation, and priced on your property rather than a flat rate. You'll get a clear, upfront price before we start — no hourly guesswork.
Why Toowoomba chooses TopWash
Who we clean for
Residential — from a single driveway to a full house exterior with windows, gutters and solar, one-off or on a schedule. See residential exterior cleaning for the full picture.
Commercial — offices, retail, industrial, strata and body corporate, medical and care facilities, schools and childcare. Commercial sites also get safety-first work: slip hazards removed, access kept clear, full PPE, and hazards flagged on every visit.
In their words
★★★★★
Quote was promptly given and when accepted, booking was easily made. The job was done on the day it was booked and we were fully advised of the details of all work undertaken. Care was taken to protect our surroundings from the cleaning runoff. Payment was easily made. A cheerful and friendly serviceman. Great job, thanks.
★★★★★
Really great job and reasonably price for the amount or work that was done house, patio and fencing was cleaned really well.
★★★★★
Oh my goodness!!! Why didn't I do this ages ago? James and his team have made a huge difference to the front of my business and my house! I was worried that pressure cleaning would damage my paint but James's "soft wash" did a beautiful job. Thankyou!
Common questions
Every quote is free and priced on your property rather than a flat rate. Area, surface type, access and how long it's been left are what move the number. Ongoing clients pay less per visit than one-off calls, simply because the growth never gets away from us.
Included. Pre-treatment for moss and algae is part of every standard clean, along with edge work and a full rinse-down. We don't charge separately for the basics.
Yes — runoff is directed away from garden beds and stormwater, and surrounding surfaces are rinsed down so we don't leave splatter behind. Plants near any treated area get wet down before and after.
Yes. No surface is too far gone. The first clean takes longer and is priced separately, then it settles into normal maintenance pricing once it's back under control.
Yes — and winter is actually a good time for it. The cooler, damper months are when moss and algae are most active, so treating then keeps growth down through spring.
No — painted and rendered surfaces get a low-pressure soft wash instead, where the treatment does the cleaning rather than the force of the water. See exterior house washing for detail.
Toowoomba and surrounds within roughly 35km — from Gatton in the east to Oakey in the west, north to Hampton and south to Cambooya — more than 50 suburbs and localities. See all areas we service →
Only to the areas being cleaned — you don't need to be home. A reminder goes out the day before so gates can be unlocked and cars moved, and you'll get a message once we're done. A padlocked side gate, a dog left out, or no accessible tap are the things that can stop us finishing.
No. Regular cleaning runs on a recurring schedule so it doesn't get forgotten, not a contract. Stretch the interval out, tighten it up, skip one or stop altogether — no penalty and no notice period.
A reminder with your ETA the day before, and an on-the-way message on the day with the estimated minutes until we arrive.
Pressure washing uses water force to remove what is sitting on a surface: dirt, red soil, oil, tyre marks and loose lichen. Soft washing uses a cleaning solution at garden-hose pressure to kill mould, algae and lichen at the root. Hard surfaces like concrete and pavers take pressure. Painted render, weatherboard, Colorbond and roofs take soft washing. Using pressure on the wrong surface is what causes the damage people worry about, so we match the method to the material rather than turning everything up.
Because of the soil. Much of Toowoomba sits on red Ferrosol, a fine iron-rich clay that washes onto concrete and soaks into it. Bare concrete is porous, so the stain is not only on the surface, it is in the top few millimetres. Cleaning lifts it, but with no sealer the next wet week puts it straight back. That is why we usually recommend sealing a driveway after the first proper clean.
Not at the correct pressure with the correct tip. Damage happens when someone runs a zero-degree tip too close and etches lines into the surface, or blows mortar out of paver joints. We use a rotary surface cleaner on flatwork, which keeps the distance and angle constant across the whole slab, so you get an even finish with no wand stripes and no etching. The tiger-striping you see on a lot of cheap driveway jobs does not come out afterwards.
Usually, and the honest answer depends on how long the oil has been there. Fresh oil lifts with a degreaser and heat. Oil that has been soaking into bare concrete for years has travelled deep into the slab and will often lighten substantially rather than vanish completely. We will tell you which one you are looking at before we start, not after.
TopWash carries $20 million public liability insurance. Our crew are police-checked and Working at Heights certified, and every worker signs a documented safe work method statement. Certificates of currency are available on request, and we send them to property managers and strata committees as a matter of course. No other exterior cleaning business in Toowoomba publishes a cover figure. See our compliance documents.
Ready to book? Get your free quote →
Get in touch with James
Tell us what needs cleaning and we'll price it properly. Most quotes come back the same day, and many can be done from photos without us visiting first.
See all our services — everything we do →