Southland Hills Weekend Prep: Driveway & Fence Pressure Washing
Weekends in Southland Hills often mean a full driveway and friends in the backyard. If your concrete shows tire shadowing and leaf stains, or your fence looks tired from sun and sprinklers, a surface-specific plan will bring everything back to life without risking landscaping, paint, or joints. Here’s how to get curb-to-backyard results that hold up in daylight and in photos.
Start with a fast audit
Walk the path from the curb to the gate. On concrete, mark oil drips at the parking spot, orange halos from irrigation, and slick algae where shade lingers. On fences, note gray fiber raised on older boards, green bands along the bottom rails, and dark marks near sprinklers. Photograph two or three angles; you’ll use them to verify uniform results and to confirm problem spots were addressed.
Driveways: uniform beats “wand art”
Concrete looks best when it dries to one even tone. Pre-treat oil, rust, and tannins so chemistry does the heavy lifting. Then use a surface cleaner for overlapping passes—the tool that prevents stripes and swirl marks. Keep PSI within safe limits for residential slabs, and slow your pace slightly where shadowing is heavy. Along borders, switch to a controlled wand with a wide fan, holding a steady stand-off so expansion joints don’t groove.
Edges, steps, and curb lips
Edges sell the clean from the street. Detail the garage threshold, the first step to the porch, and the curb lip where runoff likes to track. Rinse house-to-street and guide water toward drains, not across beds. If pavers frame the drive, reduce force at the edge to protect joint sand; plan a re-sand after full dry time if joints sit low.
Wood fences: clean, don’t shred
High force shreds fibers and leaves stripes. Use a wood-safe cleaner, allow a short dwell, and rinse with a wider fan at a greater distance, following the grain. Work from panel to panel so the color reads uniform. On heavy organics near the ground, a second gentle pass is smarter than more pressure. After drying, evaluate whether a clear or semi-transparent sealer would help with UV and sprinkler exposure.
Vinyl and composite fences
Vinyl and composite show dirt bands and algae near posts and rails. A calibrated soft approach lifts buildup without chalking the surface. Shorten dwell time near hardware and rinse top-down so water doesn’t streak freshly cleaned sections. Wipe gate latches and caps for a finished look.
Plant protection and tidy water paths
Southland Hills yards are landscaped with care. Pre-wet beds, shield delicate shrubs near tight walkways, and use diversion pads or curb socks so dirty water heads to the curb—not into mulch or onto newly cleaned panels. Keep solutions off unsealed wood and door thresholds; finish with a clear-water rinse on glass and fixtures to prevent spotting.
Timing for weekend events
Book work in a mild, dry window. Concrete needs a little time to cure spot-free, and fences should dry completely before seating or decor goes back. If you plan to seal wood, allow the manufacturer’s recommended dry time—often 24–48 hours of favorable weather.
What a professional visit includes
Expect a written scope, stain-specific pre-treatments, plant-safe chemistries, surface cleaners for uniformity, and careful edge work. The final walkthrough should confirm even driveway tone, crisp borders, safer traction on steps, and fences that read clean without furred fibers.
Hosting this weekend and want everything to look newly detailed?
Book Squeaky Clean of Memphis for expert pressure washing that restores driveways and fences while protecting your landscaping. Close the loop with our river-to-downtown playbook: Downtown Memphis: Historic Brick Pressure Washing Protocol.