Melbourne’s cool, wet winters keep concrete damp for weeks at a time. Driveways under tree cover, paths along the south-facing side of the house, and paved backyards near garden beds turn dark and slick because mould and algae embed into the surface itself. Aggregate driveways trap growth deep in the texture between the stones, and entertaining areas often look tired well before they look dirty. This is not surface dirt; it is organic growth living inside the concrete, and a garden hose will not touch it.
Mr Sparkle Window Cleaning is the Melbourne team that actually cleans concrete properly instead of just rinsing it. Our process pairs an industrial pressure cleaner and a surface cleaner attachment with a chemical pre-treatment and post-treatment that lifts mould, algae, and lichen out of the surface, all while protecting nearby plants, garden beds, and landscaping. We clean concrete driveways, paver driveways and paving, exposed aggregate, paths, paved backyards, and sidewalks across Melbourne homes, and we know exactly when not to pressure wash.
Most quotes go out within 30 minutes to an hour of your inquiry, around 90% of them remotely with no in-person visit required. If you would prefer to meet in person, we are happy to do that free of charge in our local service area. Call us today on (03) 7073 2133 to get on the schedule.
Concrete cleaning is priced per job, not by the square metre or by the hour, with the size of the surface as the main factor. For most properties, driveway, concrete, and hard-surface cleaning falls in the $475 – $1,000 range. Standard residential driveways generally sit closer to $475, while larger or very long driveways move toward $1,000. Most concrete cleans take around 1 hour, though very long driveways or large paved areas can stretch to 2 to 3 hours.
The factors that move pricing up or down include:
To confirm the booking we take a 50% deposit, payable online with no credit card fees. On a $475 driveway clean that works out to around $238, and on a $1,000 job it is $500. Pricing details for your specific surface and property are available upon request.
Getting a price from us is genuinely fast. During business hours we usually reply to inquiries within one to five minutes, often within one minute, and most quotes go out within 30 minutes to one hour. Around 90% are completed remotely using Google Earth, Google Street View, real estate listing photos, or photos you send through, since driveway and concrete jobs show up clearly from satellite and street level. If you would rather meet face to face, in-person quotes are free of charge in our local service area, and current offers are confirmed at the time of quoting.
We cover the full hard-surface category for Melbourne homes, including driveways, paths, paving, and backyard surfaces, and we adjust the approach to match the material and its condition.
Concrete is the most common surface we clean across Melbourne. We use an industrial pressure cleaner paired with a surface cleaner attachment, a flat round tool that runs evenly across the surface and produces a consistent finish instead of the streaky lines a wand leaves behind. The mechanical cleaning is paired with a chemical pre-treatment and post-treatment that lifts embedded growth out of the porous concrete so the result actually holds.
Exposed aggregate is concrete with little stones or rocks set into the surface, common across Melbourne driveways and pool surrounds. We clean it using the same overall process, with extra attention to the texture so the result is uniform across the irregular surface and growth does not stay trapped between the stones.
Pavers, whether on a driveway, a path, or a backyard, follow the same general process: pre-treatment, dwell, surface cleaner, post-treatment, and a final rinse. The grout point matters here. If the joint material is in good condition, pressure washing will not damage it. If the grout is already cracked, loose, or breaking apart, pressure cleaning may expose or worsen what is already failing, and the cleaning process cannot repair grout that is already deteriorating. We flag this during the walkthrough before we start so there are no surprises.
Backyard paving and sidewalks fronting your property are cleaned with the same process as driveways. Backyards usually have more vegetation around them, including garden beds, lawn edges, and planter boxes, so the rinse-before, rinse-during, rinse-after plant protection process matters even more. Sidewalks are often quicker because there is less surrounding landscaping to manage.
We will be honest about oil. Degreasers can fade oil staining on driveways and paths, but oil removal is not our specialty and we do not promise full removal. Oil penetrates porous concrete, especially after it has been sitting for a while, so most stains will lighten noticeably but residual marking usually remains. Most homeowners appreciate being told that upfront rather than oversold.
There are a few situations where we decline a job or change the approach:
We would rather walk away from a job than damage your property, and where possible we will recommend what to do instead.
During business hours we usually reply within one to five minutes, often within one. Most homeowners booking a driveway clean want a price before guests arrive or before listing the home for sale, and that is exactly what we deliver.
Around 90% of our quotes are completed remotely using Google Earth, Street View, real estate listing photos, or photos you send through. Driveways and paths are easy to assess this way, so most go out within 30 minutes to one hour. In-person quotes are free of charge in our local service area.
Our pressure cleaner is industrial, not a homeowner-grade unit, with significantly higher water volume and adjustable pressure. For driveways and flat surfaces we pair it with a surface cleaner attachment that produces an even finish across the whole area, with no streaky wand lines and no patchy spots.
This is the technical heart of why our work lasts longer. Mould, algae, and lichen embed into the pores of concrete and pavers; they are not simply sitting on top. A pressure-only clean removes the surface layer, but our pre-treatment breaks the growth down chemically, and the post-treatment lifts remaining spores out of the surface. Our chemical of choice is SH, also known as sodium hypochlorite or bleach, the industry-standard agent for organic growth on hard surfaces.
Plant protection is not a single rinse at the end. Vegetation gets a thorough rinse before any chemical is applied, again during dwell time to dilute drift, and once more after the surface is cleaned. Three rinse passes per work area, every job.
We will not pressure wash concrete less than three years old, we will not take on a job where drainage will flood the property, and we will not promise to remove oil stains we know we cannot fully remove. We would rather not take the money than damage your property.
We are one of the most-reviewed and highly rated exterior cleaning companies in our area, with a consistent five-star rating. That reputation came from real Melbourne homeowners who got the result they were promised, not from marketing language.
We carry public liability insurance up to $20 million, so the unspoken question of “what if something gets damaged or chemicals affect my garden” has a clear answer. We back that with a satisfaction-first walkthrough on completion, a free return visit if something is missed, and a money-back promise if you are genuinely not happy with the result.
Our concrete cleaning is staged, not rushed: pre-treat, dwell, pressure clean, post-treat, dwell again, rinse, inspect. Here is what each step looks like on the day.
During business hours we reply to inquiries within one to five minutes, generally one. We ask a short list of discovery questions covering driveway size, surface type, age of the concrete, level of staining, and drainage, then review the property remotely through Google Earth, Google Street View, and real estate listing photos. Most quotes are sent within 30 minutes to an hour.
Once you accept the quote, we lock in your preferred time and take a 50% deposit online with no credit card fees. You receive a booking confirmation immediately and a reminder 24 hours before service. That reminder is also when we ask you to move vehicles off the driveway, clear loose items like pots or outdoor furniture from the work area, and confirm water access on site.
We arrive on time and walk the surfaces with you to confirm scope, call out any oil stains or problem areas, and flag anything we have already identified as not suitable, including concrete that is too new, pavers with failing grout, or drainage concerns. From there we connect hoses to your on-site water supply. We require water access because our machine puts out around 30 litres per minute, and our 200-litre truck tank would not last seven minutes on its own. Before any chemical touches the surface, every plant near the work area gets a thorough soak rinse. This is the foundation of safe chemical use, not optional.
We apply a chemical pre-treatment, an SH-based solution that is the industry-standard agent for breaking down organic growth, across the surface. It starts working immediately on the mould, algae, and lichen embedded in the concrete or pavers so the pressure wash that follows can lift the growth out cleanly.
The pre-treatment sits for about 10 minutes before any pressure touches the surface. During this dwell time, we go back through the surrounding vegetation with another rinse, the second rinse pass for plants on the same job. The chemistry is doing its work on the concrete; we are still managing the area around it.
Once the pre-treatment dwell is finished, we move to the actual cleaning with our industrial pressure cleaner paired with the surface cleaner attachment. Hard surfaces like concrete, pavers, and aggregate generally tolerate higher pressure than the delicate exteriors used in house washing, but the pressure is still adjusted to the surface in front of us, not cranked to maximum on every job. The result is an even, consistent finish across the whole area.
The job does not end at the pressure-wash rinse. Mold and algae spores can be embedded deeper than a single pass can reach, so we apply a second chemical treatment, the post-treatment, across the surface. It sits for about 20 minutes and finishes lifting any remaining spores. After the dwell we rinse all chemicals off the surface, then give the surrounding vegetation one more thorough rinse, the third rinse pass for plants on the same job.
We do our own walkthrough first, looking for inconsistent areas, missed spots, or anything that needs a touch-up, and we fix anything we find on the spot. Then we walk you through the result. If you are not home, we record a video walkthrough so you can review it yourself. If something is spotted later that day or the next morning, we come back and fix it free of charge. The day after or the week after, our office team gives you a happy call to confirm everything is to standard, gather feedback, and, if you are happy, ask for a Google review.
We do not leave a concrete cleaning job until you, or your video walkthrough, confirms you are happy with the result. If something needs to be touched up before we go, we touch it up on the spot.
If you notice something after we have left, like a missed corner of the driveway or an area along a fence line that needed another pass, we come back free of charge. There is no callout fee, no argument, and no fine print.
In the rare case you are genuinely unhappy with the service, we refund you. We will give your money back. We do not want to fight with anyone.
We carry public liability insurance up to $20 million. The cover is a backstop, not a first line of defence; careful preparation, plant protection, surface assessment, and refusing unsafe jobs are what keep problems from happening in the first place.
A short, honest list of where we hold the line:
This is not a get-out clause. It is the kind of conversation a homeowner has either at the start of the job from us or at the end of the job from a contractor who oversold, and we would rather have it upfront. Specific guarantee terms are confirmed at the time of booking.
Driveway, concrete, and hard-surface cleaning typically falls in the $475 – $1,000 range. Standard residential driveways sit closer to $475, while larger or very long driveways move toward $1,000. Final pricing depends mainly on the size of the surface.
A standard driveway or hard-surface job usually takes around an hour. Very long driveways or large paved areas can take two to three hours, especially when there is heavy organic growth or significant landscaping to protect.
We clean concrete driveways, paver driveways, exposed aggregate, paths, paved backyards, and sidewalks across Melbourne homes. The overall process is the same across these materials, with minor adjustments for pavers and aggregate based on condition.
We use SH, also known as sodium hypochlorite or bleach, the industry-standard agent for breaking down mould, algae, and organic growth on hard surfaces. The pre-treatment dwells for about 10 minutes and the post-treatment dwells for about 20 minutes. Pressure alone will not lift growth that is embedded into porous concrete, which is why the chemistry matters.
We rinse vegetation thoroughly before any chemical is applied, again during dwell time to dilute any drift, and once more after the surface is cleaned. That is three rinse passes around the work area on every job. Sensitive areas near the driveway or paving get extra attention.
Not if it is less than three years old. Pressure cleaning new concrete can permanently etch the surface, so we will tell you upfront if your concrete is not ready and recommend waiting rather than risk it. The surface needs to be three years old or older to be safe to clean.
We can use degreasers to fade oil staining, but oil removal is not our specialty and we do not promise full removal. Most oil stains will lighten noticeably, but some residual marking usually remains. We would rather tell you that upfront than oversell the result.
If the joint material is in good condition, pressure cleaning will not affect it. If the grout is already cracked, loose, or breaking apart, the cleaning process may expose or worsen what is already failing, and pressure washing cannot repair grout that is already deteriorating. We flag this during the walkthrough before we start.
Yes. Our industrial pressure cleaner uses around 30 litres per minute, and our truck tank holds 200 litres, which is enough for about seven minutes of cleaning on its own. We connect to your outdoor tap on arrival, so we just need to know the tap is accessible.
If poor drainage means cleaning would flood part of the property, we may need to adjust the approach or, in some cases, decline the job for safety. We would rather not take on work where the cleaning process itself will cause a problem. We will always explain what we are seeing and why.
Whether you are after a one-off driveway clean before guests arrive, a path and backyard refresh ahead of entertaining season, or a hard-surface clean as part of getting your home ready to list, we can have a quote in your inbox within the hour. Most quotes are completed remotely, so you do not have to take time out of your calendar to meet anyone on site unless you want to.
Call us today on (03) 7073 2133 to get on the schedule, or send a quick inquiry through our website and we will be in touch within minutes during business hours.
