Should You Pressure Wash It Yourself or Hire a Pro?

A pressure washer looks simple enough — point, pull the trigger, watch the dirt vanish. And for some jobs, DIY genuinely is fine. For others, it's how surfaces get damaged. Here's an honest guide to which is which.

Where DIY works well

If you've got a robust surface and light grime, a domestic pressure washer will do a decent job:

• Concrete paths and hard-wearing patios with everyday dirt
• A quick freshen-up of a driveway that's cleaned regularly
• Garden furniture, bins and fences

If that's your situation, crack on — you don't need anyone.

Where DIY tends to go wrong

The problems start when the job is bigger than the tool. The most common DIY mistakes we get called in to fix:

• Striping ("zebra stripes"). Uneven passes leave a tiger-striped finish that's very hard to correct once it's there.
• Damaging the surface. Too much pressure, or the wrong nozzle, pits block paving, etches natural stone and strips protective coatings.
• Skipping the re-sand. Blasting block paving washes the sand out of the joints. If it isn't replaced with kiln-dried sand, weeds come straight back and the blocks can shift.
• Fighting lichen. Those black spots aren't dirt — no amount of pressure removes them, and trying just wrecks the slab. They need a treatment, not force.

The jobs to never DIY

Two situations are genuinely not worth risking yourself:

1. Anything at height — roofs, high render, gutters. That's working at height, and it carries real injury risk. Not a ladder-and-hope job.
2. Delicate surfaces — render, roof tiles, cladding. These need a gentle soft-wash method, and high pressure causes damage that's far harder to undo than the original dirt.

The honest bottom line

If it's a hardy surface with normal dirt and both feet stay on the ground — do it yourself. If it involves height, a delicate surface, ingrained lichen, or block paving that needs re-sanding to last, that's where a professional finish is worth it. Not sure which yours is? Send a couple of photos and we'll tell you straight — including if it's a job you could happily do yourself.