Your driveway is the true entrance to your home, and it deserves the same care as the house itself. Diligently maintaining your driveway will help to extend its life and keep it looking as new as possible. Our goal is to ensure that you have the essential outdoor concrete maintenance tips that will help you avoid having to pay for premature replacement.
Be Careful While Working Around The House
While concrete is inherently strong, its surface is susceptible to scratching and other damage. Make sure that you are not dragging any metal-edged tools to avoid scratching your driveway. Additionally, make sure your lawnmower isn’t leaking when driving over it.
Act Fast on Oil
When oil stains penetrate your concrete, they can be extremely difficult to remove. If there is a fresh oil stain on your driveway, it is in your best interest to act as quickly as possible. Though tough to remove, there are homemade solutions you can put together to combat fresh oil stains in concrete. With fresh oil spots, apply something like cat litter or baking soda to absorb that moisture. Then, apply water to it and scrub with a brush using a solution comprised of water and baking soda before rinsing away.
Have Your Driveway Professionally Washed
Washing your driveway on an annual basis is essential in extending its life. Mold and mildew will naturally find their way to your driveway over time, which can aid in deterioration. Using safe pressure and specialized cleansers, hiring a professional power washing company to clean the driveway is always recommended. Additionally, the visual difference between a clean and dirty driveway is like night and day.
Seal Your Driveway
Concrete sealers are designed to strengthen and protect the surface and extend its life. There are several different types of sealers you could use, all differing in their utilities. Acrylic/topcoat sealers are designed to protect the surface and often change the look of the concrete. Penetrating sealers enter the pores of the surface and structurally protect the concrete from within. Make sure to seal your concrete on a regular basis to get the longest possible lifespan out of it.
Try to Avoid Melting Agents
While melting agents like salt melt the ice on your driveway, their long-term effects can damage the concrete. Salt will decrease the freezing point of liquids on the concrete, which obviously adds moisture since water is now sitting on top of the concrete. During this process, freezing and thawing of ice and water will occur more frequently.
Understand the Look
There are a few factors that can cause discoloration in concrete, but curing inadequacies are what we experience most. When concrete is new, the contractors will apply a curing agent to it, giving it a whitish color. Over time, this curing agent will naturally wear away. As it wears away, the natural, darker color of the concrete will present itself. It is important to make the distinction between dirty concrete and worn concrete. Especially after washing, you might perceive certain areas as still being dirty when they are very likely areas that have simply faded naturally.
How Perfect Power Wash Can Help
These outdoor concrete maintenance tips should have everything you need to keep your concrete in its best condition. At Perfect Power Wash, our primary purposes are to beautify your property and protect your largest investment. Our professionals use safe pressure when cleaning your concrete to restore its look. After that, we apply a penetrating siloxane sealer that helps strengthen your concrete from within without altering its appearance. For the past 20+ years, we have been protecting driveways across Northeast and Central Ohio using our safe, proven process. For more information, you can read about our Concrete Wash & Seal
