Hire a Pressure Cleaner Melbourne VIC - Get Local Quotes

Matching Your Job to the Right Melbourne Pressure Cleaner

Pressure cleaning businesses in Melbourne range from a single operator with a trailer-mounted machine to crews that wash walls, paving and decks in one visit. Some focus on soft washing, which means applying a cleaning solution and rinsing at low pressure so paint and render are not harmed. Others work mainly on concrete and pavers, and a few combine cleaning with sealing or minor repairs. Not every business that suits a small courtyard carries the equipment for a two storey wall or a large shared driveway. If you are unsure which kind of job you need, read about the main types offered around the state in our Victorian pressure cleaning guide. Knowing the job type first helps you contact businesses that already do that kind of work.

Walking around the property with a notepad gives you most of what a cleaner needs to price the job. Note each surface, what it is made of and roughly how big it is, using a tape measure or a satellite map for the driveway. Look for oil marks under the car, black mould on shaded paths and grey timber on the deck, and take a photo of each one. Check whether water on the driveway runs to the street gutter, a garden bed or a grate in the middle of the concrete. Add the year the house was built, since a careful cleaner uses it to decide which surfaces are safe to wash.

The choice of business also depends on what happens after the clean. If the walls are about to be repainted, a painter may prefer to organise the wash so the timing suits the paint. Where a driveway will be sealed straight afterwards, a business that does both steps saves a second visit and a second minimum charge. Roof work can be a separate trade, and you can read how different roof materials are treated in our Victorian roof cleaning guide.

Price Bands for Melbourne Driveways, Walls and Decks

All prices in this section are 2027 estimates taken from our Victorian pressure washing cost guide, which holds the full statewide tables. Hard surfaces such as paths and patios run at an estimated $3 to $8 per square metre. For driveways, the estimate is $150 to $350 for a single and $250 to $550 for a double. For Melbourne jobs, a single driveway with the front path comes to an estimated $200 to $450. Heavy staining lifts a double driveway to an estimated $400 to $700. Each band covers a normal clean of that surface, so stain treatment and sealing are priced on top.

Walls are priced as a house soft wash, estimated at $350 to $700 for a single storey home for 2027. Double storey houses move to an estimated $600 to $1,400, because upper walls take longer and need more equipment. Deck or patio restoration is estimated at $200 to $600, while a Melbourne job covering the deck, patio and rear paving together is estimated at $300 to $800. Fences can be priced by length, at an estimated $8 to $18 per lineal metre. Fence prices depend on height and on whether both sides are washed, so state which sides you want. Sealing, which means applying a protective coating that resists stains and water, is a separate step after cleaning, estimated at $8 to $20 per square metre.

These bands assume normal working hours and a tap the cleaner can use. Our cost guide notes that bundling several surfaces into one visit can trim twenty to thirty per cent from the combined rate. A minimum call-out of an estimated $150 to $250 for 2027 still applies to small jobs. Use the bands to spot a quote that looks far too low or far too high, then read its scope line by line.

Square Metre Rates, Whole Job Prices and Hourly Problem Work

Open concrete and paving can be priced by the square metre, then rounded into a fixed price for the whole surface. Driveways and house washes can be quoted as one sum after the cleaner sees the site or clear photos of it. Hourly charging is kept for jobs that are hard to measure, such as stubborn stains or awkward access, at an estimated $80 to $150 per hour for 2027. When a quote uses an hourly rate, ask for an expected number of hours and a cap. A fixed price is easier to compare, provided it lists each surface and its rough area.

The minimum call-out covers travel, unloading, setting up hoses and packing away, even when the actual washing takes under an hour. Booking the front path alone may therefore cost almost as much as the path and the side passage together. Some businesses also offer equipment hire, and our cost guide puts a domestic machine for a weekend at an estimated $60 to $120. Hiring a machine leaves the runoff duty, the noise hours and the safety risk with you rather than the cleaner. Part of a professional price covers the cleaner taking on those duties and risks. Check whether the minimum charge is absorbed into the total when more surfaces are added on the day.

Extras need their own lines so you can see them before the day. Oil treatment, a second pass over black mould, moving heavy pots and sealing are examples of items that can appear later as a surprise. A quote that says only driveway clean gives you no written scope to rely on if the oil marks are still there afterwards. Ask the cleaner to write down what result to expect on each stain, since some marks soak too deep to lift fully.

Electric, Cordless, Petrol and Hot Water Machines

The machine a cleaner brings affects noise, speed and how gently a surface can be treated. Stihl makes the RE 130 PLUS, an electric high-pressure cleaner that runs from a power point. For work away from a power point, Makita makes the DHW080, a pressure washer with a brushless motor, meaning one without carbon brushes, that runs on two 18 volt batteries. Smaller jobs around the house can suit the AdvancedAquatak range of high-pressure washers that Bosch makes. Machines like these suit small paths and courtyards, while some businesses bring larger trailer or van units for bigger jobs.

Hot water machines heat the water before it leaves the wand, and some businesses that deal with grease carry one. Nilfisk makes the MH range of hot water high-pressure washers, and Kränzle makes the therm series of hot water units. Hot water units add fuel, weight and setup time, so a cleaner may price them above a cold water wash. If your quote names a hot water unit for oil marks, ask whether the price includes a degreaser, a chemical that loosens oil, as well. For a plain concrete path with only dirt and leaf stains, a cold water machine may be all that is needed.

A surface cleaner is the round attachment some operators use on flat concrete instead of a single wand. Kärcher makes T-Racer surface cleaners, which use a twin-jet rotating arm and a splash guard to clean large flat areas. The maker says the distance from nozzle to surface can be changed to suit harder concrete or softer timber. Kärcher says this attachment cleans large surfaces in about half the time of a spray lance, without splash back. Surface cleaners are designed for flat areas, so steps, edges and joints still need a wand. Ask what attachment will be used on each surface, and whether a test patch is planned before the main clean.

Start Times Under the Environment Protection Regulations 2021

Victoria sets prohibited times for noisy items used at homes in regulation 114 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2021. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria lists equipment with an internal combustion engine, which covers a petrol machine, in group 1 of that table. On weekdays, group 1 is restricted before 7 am and after 8 pm. On weekends and public holidays, the prohibited times are before 9 am and after 8 pm. During those hours, a petrol pressure cleaner should not be heard in a neighbour's home. Put the agreed start time in the booking, so neither you nor the cleaner has to guess on the day.

Pressure cleaners are not named in the table, and the group for an electric machine is less clear. Group 2 covers electric power tools and gas or air compressors, and group 6 covers other electrical equipment not listed elsewhere. Both groups carry the same prohibited times as petrol engines, so the practical answer is the same for any machine. Plan for a start no earlier than 7 am on a weekday or 9 am on a weekend or public holiday. Owners corporation rules may add their own limits on noise in shared buildings, so check those too.

Engine exhaust is a separate issue from noise, and it affects where the machine should sit. Agree a spot away from open windows, air conditioner units and the neighbour's side fence. Close windows on the side being washed, because spray and fine grit can be driven through flyscreens. Warn the neighbours beside the work a day ahead, giving them time to shift cars and bring in washing.

Townhouses, Apartment Blocks and Common Property Approval

Townhouses and apartments in Melbourne can share driveways, paths, bin areas and walls that belong to an owners corporation, the legal body made up of every lot owner. Consumer Affairs Victoria says a lot owner, meaning the owner of one unit or townhouse, must not repair, alter or maintain the common property unless the owners corporation has expressly authorised it. Booking a cleaner for the shared driveway yourself is therefore a question for the owners corporation or its manager first. The plan of subdivision, the registered plan dividing the land into lots, shows which areas are shared common property and which belong to each lot.

Where the owners corporation organises the work, it may use a business that handles larger sites. Our page on commercial pressure cleaning describes the paperwork larger jobs can involve, such as site inductions and safe work method statements, which are written plans for controlling risky tasks. Information on how owners corporations run, including rules and disputes, is published by Consumer Affairs Victoria. If washing is part of preparing shared walls for repainting, owners corporation painting may be booked as one package. Ask the manager which tap and power point the cleaner may use, since common services can be locked. Keep a copy of the manager's written approval with the quote.

Carpet and stair runners inside the building are a separate job from the outside wash. Read about lift access and indoor approvals before hiring a carpet cleaner in Melbourne for those shared areas. Booking both on the same day can save the manager arranging building access twice. Record the approval in writing, with the areas, the dates and the hours agreed, before the cleaner arrives. Share the approved hours with both businesses so neither one turns up early.

Victoria's Permanent Water Saving Rules on Driveways and Paths

Under the Permanent Water Saving Rules, which apply across Victoria every day, the Victorian Government water information site says water must not be used to clean hard surfaces such as concrete, paths and driveways. The exceptions cover cleaning after an accident, fire, health hazard, safety hazard or other emergency. Cleaning is also allowed where staining has developed, but only once a season. The third exception covers construction or renovation, using a high pressure water cleaning device, or a hand-held hose or bucket if no such device is available.

Greater Western Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water are the three water corporations that supply homes in Melbourne. Greater Western Water describes the once a season allowance as once in summer, autumn, winter and spring. Yarra Valley Water and South East Water both say the rate of delivery must be 9 litres per minute or less. Window washing has no restrictions according to Yarra Valley Water, and South East Water says windows can be washed at any time. Breaking the rules can lead to warnings, on-the-spot fines or prosecution, so plan the timing of a cosmetic driveway wash with care. In special limited circumstances, customers can apply to South East Water for an exemption.

These rules apply only to drinking water supplied through the mains. Yarra Valley Water says they do not apply to rainwater, greywater, bore water or recycled water. A cleaner who draws water from your rainwater tank is therefore outside the rules, although the duty to keep runoff out of drains still applies. Tell the cleaner whether the tank has a pump and a tap, and how full it is, before the day. Keep the booking note that records why a driveway was cleaned, such as staining or a slippery patch.

Melbourne's Drain Network and the General Environmental Duty

Water that leaves your driveway enters a drain network run by councils and Melbourne Water. According to Melbourne Water, its 1,400 kilometres of regional drains carry stormwater to rivers and creeks, and some outlets run straight to the bay. Councils manage about 25,000 kilometres of local drains and street gutters, while property owners look after their own roof gutters and downpipes. Rivers and creeks in the region then flow into Port Phillip Bay or Western Port. Grit, detergent and oil from a driveway wash can travel that whole route if nothing stops it at the kerb.

According to EPA Victoria, any activity that may affect stormwater or the drains carrying it falls under the general environmental duty. Under that duty, everyone must reduce the risk of harm and keep waste out of drains so far as reasonably practicable. The duty comes from the Environment Protection Act 2017, and because it applies to everyone, it covers the person who hires a cleaner as well as the business. For car washing, EPA Victoria suggests the lawn or a car wash that recycles water, and it suggests sweeping footpaths rather than hosing them. The same approach works on a driveway, where sweeping first leaves far less material for the wash water to carry. Covering the grate and collecting dirty water are practical steps that help meet the duty.

In March 2025, EPA Victoria reported that a property development company had been fined nearly $4,000 after workers used high pressure cleaners to clear a bonding agent from a new driveway in Maddingley. According to the EPA, the contaminated wash water went into stormwater drains leading to the Werribee River. Its comment that individually small discharges can add up to pollution of waterways applies to household jobs too. Pollution you see in a drain can be reported to the EPA's 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842.

Colorbond Steel, Grey Timber and Mould on Shaded Paths

BlueScope's Colorbond steel maintenance advice says to hose down areas that rain does not wash at least every six months. It names wall cladding under eaves, the top of garage doors and the underside of eave gutters as those areas. More frequent washing is advised where marine salt spray is common or industrial fallout is heavy. Soil and mulch should not build up against the steel, according to the same advice. The method described is hosing with clean fresh water, and no pressure machine is mentioned. Hosing those areas from the ground keeps the job simple and avoids any climbing.

Grey or stained decking needs a product made for timber, not a stronger jet. Intergrain makes UltraPrep Timber Cleaner, which contains oxalic acid and citric acid and is meant to restore weathered, grey or tannin-stained timber, meaning wood marked by dark natural dyes that leach out of it. Its directions call for scrubbing the mixture in and leaving it for 10 to 15 minutes, out of direct sun. Rinsing is done with a garden hose at full pressure or a high pressure water cleaner, and the maker warns against contact with vegetation and with painted, concrete or metal surfaces. The maker says it may be corrosive to metals, so splashes on fixings or railings should be rinsed off straight away. Boards that are split, loose or soft may need timber deck repair and restoration before any coating goes on.

Shaded paths and south-facing walls can grow black mould, moss or algae, and a labelled treatment can do more than pressure alone. 30 Seconds makes an Outdoor Cleaner that removes algae, moss, mould and mildew from many hard exterior surfaces. The maker recommends keeping children and pets indoors while it is applied, and away from treated areas until they are rinsed and dry. On Colorbond steel, the maker says to keep the product wet for no more than 3 to 5 minutes, then brush and rinse well. Bluestone and older pavers need extra care, and you can check what each surface can handle in our notes on concrete and paver cleaning.

Degreasers, Prep Cleaners and Sealers by Name

Oil marks under a car can resist water alone, so cleaners may add a degreaser before the wash. Spitwater, an Australian maker of cleaning equipment, sells the FlowRPM range of chemicals made in Australia. That range includes a Workshop and Driveway Degreaser for concrete affected by traffic and oil stains. It also includes a Building Wash for building exteriors when applied through a foaming system.

Sealing starts with a clean, dry surface, and some sealer makers sell their own preparation products. Crommelin makes DiamondTough Clean and Prep, which removes grease, grime and dirt from new paving and concrete before sealing. Dry Treat makes Stain-Proof, an invisible and breathable impregnating sealer, which soaks into the surface instead of forming a coat on top, for natural stone, tiles, pavers, concrete, brick and grout. A quote for clean and seal work should name both the cleaner and the sealer, with the number of coats. You can compare the main sealer types and how long each one lasts in our guide to concrete sealing in Victoria.

Sealing adds an estimated $8 to $20 per square metre for 2027, on top of the clean. Combining both steps through driveway cleaning and sealing avoids a second minimum call-out. Check how long the surface must dry before sealing, and how long cars and foot traffic must stay off afterwards. These times appear on the product data sheets, so the cleaner should be able to quote them. Crommelin sells both gloss and satin wet look sealers, which leave the surface looking darker and freshly wet, so ask which finish the price allows for. Keep the product names with your invoice, since a future reseal needs a compatible product.

Regulation 216 and Old Fibre Cement Sheeting

On the state's asbestos website, the chance of finding asbestos is linked to when a home was built. It rates asbestos-containing products as highly likely in a home from before the mid-1980s, and likely in one from the mid-1980s to 1990. After 1990, asbestos-containing products become unlikely in a new home. It also warns that looking at a sheet is not enough to tell whether asbestos is in it. Garages, sheds and extensions can be a different age from the house, so check each building separately. Write the build year of each building into your brief, since a cleaner cannot work it out from the street.

Regulation 216 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 covers tools used on asbestos-containing material. In a safety alert published on 1 September 2026, WorkSafe Victoria says an employer or self-employed person must not use a high-pressure water jet on that material unless the use is controlled. WorkSafe describes controlled use as enclosing the tool, fitting a water spray or dust extraction to the tool itself, or combining both. An ordinary pressure wand used in the open is neither enclosed nor fitted with extraction. The rule applies to the business, so a cleaner who knows it should refuse to blast sheeting that may contain asbestos.

The Victorian asbestos website is just as direct about cleaning asbestos cement before painting or sealing. It says asbestos-containing material must never be water-blasted to prepare it, and it says never to use high-pressure water cleaning methods. Its advice to householders also lists high-pressure water jets as something not to use, because they can spread loose fibres. If you are unsure about a fence, eave or shed wall, you can have the material confirmed first through asbestos testing and inspection. Where an old asbestos roof needs more than a wash, the job may suit asbestos roof removal by a licensed business. Keep any test result with your property records, since it will help future trades as well.

Pre-1970 Paint, Garden Soil and High Risk Lead Work

EPA Victoria says paint on a house built before 1970 may contain up to 50 per cent lead. Lead levels in household paint dropped steadily between 1965 and 1992, according to the same EPA guidance. It also says to assume that soil around a house painted before 1970 contains lead. Chipping or flaking lead paint is one way lead gets into the soil around a house. The EPA's advice is to keep painted surfaces in good condition so older layers do not flake away. Washing failing paint at high pressure does the opposite, stripping loose flakes onto garden beds and paving.

In its guidance on removing lead-based paint, WorkSafe Victoria lists high pressure water jets among high risk lead processes, along with abrasive blasting, which fires grit at a surface. It says lead paint was used on many buildings and structures built before 1970, and it may now sit under newer coats. The guidance favours wet methods with on-tool water suppression or dust extraction, and it says all waste must be contained and disposed of securely. If old paint is flaking, lead paint removal by a specialist may need to happen before any wash. Sound paint can be soft washed at low pressure, with the wand kept well back from the surface.

Weatherboards, verandah posts and window frames on older Melbourne houses are the places to check first. If a repaint is planned, ask the painter whether washing is part of their preparation, and read our guide to exterior house painting before booking both trades. Keep children and pets away from the area while any work on old paint is under way. Paint chips that fall during a wash should be picked up and bagged, not hosed into the garden.

WorkSafe's Five Levels of Fall Control for Upper Walls and Roofs

WorkSafe Victoria says employers must take specific steps where there is a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres. Its guidance lists five levels of control, starting with working from the ground or a solid platform. The next level is a passive fall prevention device, which stops a fall without the worker doing anything, such as scaffolding or an elevated work platform, meaning a powered lifting platform. Below that come work positioning systems, which support a worker in a harness, then fall arrest systems that stop a fall, such as a harness or safety net. Ladders and administrative controls, meaning written procedures and instructions, sit at the fifth and lowest level. WorkSafe adds that employers must also manage the risk of falls of 2 metres or less.

For a pressure cleaner, the first level can mean washing upper walls from the ground with a long wand or extension pole. Where that is not possible, the quote should say whether a platform, scaffold or roof anchor system will be used. WorkSafe says ladders should only be used for simple and short-duration tasks, temporary access or exit. A wand pushes back against the operator when fired, and spray wets the rungs, so question whether a ladder suits the job.

WorkSafe gives specific ladder rules that are useful to know when a cleaner arrives. Nobody should stand on or above the second step from the top of an A-frame ladder. On an extension ladder, nobody should stand on a rung less than 1 metre from the top, and three points of contact should always be kept. WorkSafe has also announced new infringement notices, which are on-the-spot fines, for some falls and high risk construction work offences, starting on 31 March 2027. Keep children, pets and cars well clear of any wall being washed from height.

When an Outside Wash Reaches Carpets, Rugs and Cushions

Spray from a wall wash can get through a gap under a door or an open window and wet the carpet inside. Closing every window on the side being washed and rolling a towel along door gaps helps keep spray out. Wet carpet should be dealt with promptly, and a carpet cleaner can extract the water with the right equipment. You can check price estimates for visits across the city in our guide to carpet cleaning costs in Melbourne. Photograph rooms near the work area before the job, so any water damage is easy to show afterwards.

Outdoor cushions, fabric chairs and the lounge on a covered patio should come inside before any washing starts. Fabric that has been splashed with detergent or mould treatment may need cleaning by someone who knows upholstery. Before hiring an upholstery cleaner in Melbourne for splashed fabric, run through the fabric checks that guide lists. For prices on cushions and lounges, see our Melbourne upholstery cleaning costs. Woven outdoor rugs are easier to wash on their own than to protect beside a running machine. Shade sails and outdoor blinds close to the walls may also need to come down for the day.

Moving out or selling can bring inside and outside cleaning into the same week. For indoor work, our page on hiring a cleaner in Melbourne covers vacate cleans, meaning a full clean when you move out, and the checks for indoor cleaners. Prices for whole-house cleaning, windows and gutters appear in our Melbourne cleaning services cost guide. Book the exterior wash before the indoor clean, so any grit tracked inside is removed at the end.

Marks, Etching and Missed Areas After the Job

A jet held too close to timber, render or soft concrete can leave marks that are hard to reverse. Service guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, as described by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), require the work to be done with due care and skill. The work must also suit any purpose you stated before it began, according to the ACCC. Where a service fails a guarantee, the remedy can include fixing the work, a refund or compensation for loss. Start by writing to the business, attaching dated photos of each damaged or missed spot. Give a reasonable time for a reply, and keep copies of every message.

Should the business leave the problem unfixed, Consumer Affairs Victoria can advise on your rights and what to do next. A dispute still unresolved after that can be lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), where consumer and trader claims are heard. The written quote, the invoice and your before and after photos are the main evidence for either step. Your complaint is much easier to prove when the quote named the surfaces, the method and the expected result. Damage to a neighbour's car or fence can be claimed on the cleaner's public liability insurance, which covers harm the business causes to other people or their property.

Water that reached carpets or furniture during the job is part of the same claim against the cleaner. Get the indoor damage assessed quickly, because waiting can make it worse and harder to link to the job. Keep the extraction invoice and any notes from the carpet cleaner about the cause. Pollution caused by the job is a separate matter for EPA Victoria, whether it came from your cleaner or one working next door.

Red Flags in a Melbourne Pressure Cleaning Quote

Some offers arrive by door knock, with a price for washing the roof or driveway straight away. That leaves no time to check the business name, its Australian Business Number (ABN) or its insurance. A cleaner who offers to blast an old fibre cement fence or roof is ignoring regulation 216 if that sheeting contains asbestos. Be cautious about any quote that does not mention where the water will come from or where it will go. Very low prices may simply leave out stain treatment, the second storey or the runoff work. Refusing to put the price and scope in writing is another reason to keep looking.

Check that the business holds public liability insurance by asking for a certificate of currency, which is the insurer's written proof that a policy is current. The insured name on the certificate should match the business named on the quote and linked to the ABN. For roof or double storey work, the quote should name a method of fall control higher than a ladder alone. If the business says it can wash a dry, unstained driveway with mains water any time it likes, it is wrong about the Permanent Water Saving Rules. Paying in full, in cash, before the job starts makes a refund or a return visit harder to secure.

Watch the wording on stain removal and results. Promising that every mark will come out is not realistic, because some oil and rust soaks too deep. Vague terms such as general clean or full exterior should be replaced with a list of surfaces before you accept. Extras that turn up on the day need a written price and your agreement before any work on them starts.

What Each Melbourne Quote Should Answer Before You Accept

Send every business the same short brief, with your suburb, each surface, rough areas and a photo of each stain. Note when the house and each shed or garage went up, and circle old sheeting, peeling paint or timber decking on your photos. Say whether you have a rainwater tank, where the outdoor tap is and where water from the driveway runs. For townhouses and apartments, add the owners corporation manager's contact and any approved hours. State whether you want sealing, gutters or a window clean added, so every price covers the same scope. Give every business the same deadline for replying, so the quotes arrive close together.

When the quotes come back, check that each one answers the same questions. It should name the surfaces, the machine and attachment, the products, the water source and the runoff plan. Where the business is registered for goods and services tax (GST), the total should show it, along with any minimum charge. Compare the figures with the 2027 estimates on this page and in the full cost guide. Choose on price only once the scope, the method and the paperwork match across the quotes you hold.

Pick a start time outside the prohibited noise hours that also suits the water rules, and allow drying time before cars come back. If gutters need clearing, you can see how that work is priced in our gutter cleaning guide, and doing it first stops debris landing on clean paving. Washing the outside of the glass may suit a separate window cleaning booking once the walls are finished. For painted walls, read what a wash can and cannot fix on our page about house washing in Victoria. Before paying, go around the finished surfaces with the cleaner and show them anything missed. Pay against an invoice that matches the quote, and keep both with your photos.