Concrete cleaning & driveway sealing for Salt Lake City homes.
Driveways, patios, garage floors, walkways, and pool decks — surface-cleaned with hot water, then optionally sealed to extend life and resist stains. Most jobs done in a single afternoon.
Why your concrete looks tired
Three culprits are responsible for 90% of the grime on residential concrete in Salt Lake:
- Magnesium chloride brine — the road salt the city uses leaves a dark band along driveway edges and creates pitting if not removed.
- Oil & tire residue — drips, leaks, and the dark squares under tire rest positions.
- Organic growth — moss in expansion joints, algae on shaded patios, mildew on north-facing porches.
Each requires a different treatment. We pre-treat oil with a degreaser, expansion joints with an algaecide, and salt deposits with a slightly acidic cleaner before the hot-water surface clean.
Surface cleaning vs. wand
Most pressure-washing companies clean concrete with a wand. It's faster for them and cheaper to quote — but the result is uneven (zebra striping, swirl marks, missed sections). We use a 20-inch rotary surface cleaner that distributes 3,200 PSI evenly across the surface, with the wand reserved only for edges, joints, and tight corners.
The difference shows up most on stamped or decorative concrete, where wand patterns are obvious in raking light. With a surface cleaner, you can't tell where one pass ended and the next began.
Should you seal your driveway?
If your concrete is more than 5 years old and isn't sealed, yes — probably. A penetrating siloxane sealer does three things:
- Resists oil, salt, and water absorption — stains lift instead of soaking in.
- Cuts freeze–thaw damage substantially by keeping water out of the slab.
- Doesn't change the color or finish of the concrete the way film-forming sealers do.
Sealer lasts 3–5 years in Utah climate. The matched contractor typically applies it the day after cleaning so the slab is fully dry. Cost is set by the contractor at quote time and depends on coverage area and product chosen.
Pavers, stamped, and decorative concrete
We clean and re-sand pavers (polymeric joint sand) as a separate add-on — most paver patios in Holladay and Cottonwood Heights need re-sanding every 4–5 years to keep weeds and ants out. Stamped concrete gets a color-enhancing sealer that restores the original tone.
Before & after: 12-year driveway in Lehi
Hot water, surface cleaner, and a siloxane sealer the next morning.
Common Wasatch Front scenarios
Spring driveway deep clean
March and April are peak driveway-washing season in Salt Lake. Snow plows leave brine bands along driveway edges, melted oil drips become visible, and homeowners get the first real look at the slab in months. Matched contractors handle most spring driveway requests within 5–7 days.
Paver patio restoration
Paver patios from the 1990s–2000s lose joint sand over time, letting weeds in. Cleaning the pavers and re-sanding with polymeric joint sand is the right pairing — your matched pro handles both in one visit. Common request in Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, and bench-side neighborhoods.
Garage floor degreasing before sealing
Garage floors with oil, brake dust, and tire marks are good candidates for a hot-water degrease before applying an epoxy or sealer. The matched contractor handles the cleaning; if you want full epoxy after, they can usually refer a flooring installer.
Pool deck slip-hazard remediation
Algae on shaded pool decks and pavers creates real slip hazards through summer. A matched soft-wash plus surface clean removes the biofilm and restores grip. Worth scheduling early summer before peak swim season, especially on north-facing or tree-shaded decks.
Pre-listing driveway and walkway prep
For Wasatch Front home sales, a clean driveway and front walk is the single best ROI hardscape improvement before listing. Buyers notice within seconds. Matched contractors prioritize pre-listing jobs to hit photo-day deadlines.
What to expect from your matched pro
Written walkaround before the work starts
Your matched contractor walks the property with you, notes any pre-existing cracks, soft mortar, loose siding, or paint chipping, and gives a fixed quote in writing. This protects both sides — the homeowner sees what they're getting, the contractor doesn't get blamed for damage that was already there.
Eco-safe detergents and landscape protection
Pros in our network pre-rinse landscaping with fresh water before applying any cleaner, cover sensitive plants, and post-rinse the beds when they're done. Detergents are biodegradable and applied at residential-safe dilutions. Pet bowls and outdoor toys get rinsed or moved before work begins.
Surface-appropriate equipment, not one-size-fits-all
Industrial hot-water rigs for concrete and brick. Rotary surface cleaners to avoid wand stripes on driveways. Soft-wash low-pressure rigs for siding and roofs. The contractor switches tools mid-job rather than forcing one method onto every surface.
Liability insurance carried by every matched pro
Every contractor in our network carries general liability insurance covering accidental property damage. We verify policy status before adding contractors and re-verify annually. If you want to see a current certificate before they start, ask — they'll bring one.
Clean exit and follow-up
After the wash, the matched contractor does a final rinse, walks the property with you, and addresses any spots you flag. Most jobs include after-photos texted to you the same day. If something needs a touch-up, the contractor handles it — they own the work, we just made the match.
How pressure washing differs from soft washing
These get confused constantly. Pressure washing uses high PSI (often 3,000+) and is the right call for concrete, brick, pavers, and other hard surfaces that can take the force. Soft washing uses low pressure — typically under 500 PSI — and a biodegradable detergent that kills mildew and algae at the root. Soft washing is the right call for stucco, painted siding, vinyl, fiber-cement, and asphalt roofs. A 3,000-PSI wand pointed at stucco strips paint and drives water behind the siding; a soft-wash mix applied to bare concrete just sits there and runs off. Matching the method to the surface is the difference between a clean job and damage.