Should You Seal Pavers After Pressure Cleaning? Perth Homeowner’s Guide

After having pavers, limestone or other outdoor surfaces professionally cleaned, you might wonder whether it’s worth having them sealed as well.

The answer depends on the surface.

Sealing isn’t essential after every pressure clean, but for suitable porous surfaces it can provide additional protection and make future maintenance easier.

Here’s what Perth homeowners should know before deciding whether to clean and seal their paving.

What does paver sealer actually do?

A quality sealer helps reduce the amount of moisture and contaminants that can penetrate into porous paving.

Depending on the surface and sealer used, this can help:

• Reduce water absorption

• Make staining easier to manage

• Slow weathering

• Reduce how easily dirt penetrates the surface

• Make future cleaning easier

• Improve the overall appearance of the paving

It’s important to understand that sealing does not make paving completely maintenance-free.

Outdoor surfaces will still be exposed to dirt, weather, leaves and organic growth.

The purpose is to protect the surface and make it easier to maintain, rather than permanently prevent it from getting dirty again.

Should limestone be sealed?

Limestone is naturally porous, which means it can readily absorb moisture and contaminants.

For this reason, sealing can be particularly beneficial after limestone has been professionally cleaned.

At Jet Force, we generally favour a quality penetrating sealer for suitable limestone.

A penetrating product absorbs into the stone rather than creating a thick glossy film sitting on top.

This can provide protection while retaining a more natural appearance.

Will sealing stop mould and algae completely?

No sealer can guarantee that mould or algae will never return.

Organic growth develops because of environmental factors including moisture, shade and surrounding vegetation.

Sealing reduces the amount of moisture that can penetrate the paving and can therefore make conditions less favourable for growth, while also making future cleaning easier.

Shaded areas beneath patios and alfrescos are naturally more likely to remain damp for longer than areas exposed to sunlight.

Why does paving under an alfresco sometimes look a different colour?

This is something we regularly see when cleaning Perth properties.

Paving underneath a covered patio or alfresco is protected from the same amount of direct sunlight and weather exposure as surrounding areas.

Over many years, the two areas can therefore weather differently.

Once everything has been thoroughly cleaned, some natural colour variation may remain.

Chemical treatment and professional cleaning can remove organic contamination, but they cannot reverse every permanent colour change within the stone.

We always prefer to explain this beforehand rather than promise that old paving will look completely identical afterwards.

Do brick pavers need re-sanding after pressure cleaning?

Sometimes.

A thorough pressure clean can remove old sand from the joints between brick pavers.

If enough jointing material has been removed, we can apply fresh paving sand after the surface has been cleaned.

The sand is swept into the joints to replace material lost during cleaning and help stabilise the paving.

Not every job needs re-sanding, so we assess the condition after cleaning.

Should you seal immediately after pressure cleaning?

No.

The surface should be properly cleaned and sufficiently dry before a sealer is applied.

Applying sealer while moisture remains trapped within a porous surface can cause problems with the final appearance and performance of some products.

Weather conditions therefore play an important role when scheduling sealing work.

We may clean the surface on one day and return once it has properly dried to apply the sealer.

Should you seal around a swimming pool?

The type of sealer is particularly important around pool areas.

Heavy film-forming or glossy coatings can sometimes create an undesirable finish on areas where slip resistance is important.

For suitable porous paving, we generally prefer penetrating products that protect the material without creating a thick glossy layer sitting on top.

Every pool surround should still be assessed according to the particular stone or paving material.

How long does paver sealer last?

There isn’t one lifespan that applies to every surface.

It depends on:

• Type of paving

• Product used

• Amount of sunlight

• Foot and vehicle traffic

• Drainage

• Weather exposure

• Previous treatments

• Surface preparation

• Maintenance

High-traffic areas will generally wear faster than sheltered sections of a property.

The quality of the preparation is also extremely important. Applying an expensive sealer to a poorly prepared surface won’t produce the same result as properly cleaning and preparing it first.

Is sealing worth the extra cost?

For suitable paving, particularly porous materials such as limestone, it can be.

Sealing costs more initially because of the amount of product required and the additional preparation and application time.

Quality penetrating sealers are also considerably more expensive than simply applying a cheap surface coating.

The benefit is longer-term protection and easier maintenance.

We don’t recommend sealing simply because a surface has been pressure cleaned. We’ll let you know whether we believe it’s worthwhile for your particular paving.

Can old pavers be restored rather than replaced?

Often, yes.

Older paving can sometimes look far worse than it actually is because of years of dirt, algae, staining and organic build-up.

A combination of professional pressure cleaning, chemical treatment, re-sanding and sealing can make a significant visual improvement without replacing the paving.

However, cleaning cannot repair physically damaged, badly sunken or permanently stained pavers.

We’ll let you know if we believe cleaning is unlikely to achieve the result you’re expecting.

Paver cleaning and sealing in Perth

Jet Force Outdoor Solutions provides professional paver cleaning, limestone cleaning, re-sanding and sealing across Perth.

We work on:

• Brick paving

• Limestone

• Driveways

• Pool surrounds

• Patios

• Alfresco areas

• Pathways

• Courtyards

• Outdoor entertaining areas

If you’d like a quote, send us your property address and photos of the areas you’d like cleaned or sealed.

For larger areas, we may also be able to measure the surface remotely.

Contact Jet Force Outdoor Solutions for a free paver cleaning and sealing quote in Perth.