How to hire
Start by matching the firm to the surface. A dedicated washer owns driveways, patios, paths, render and roofs, and knows when high pressure helps and when it harms. A garden firm or whole-property cleaner suits washing bundled with upkeep, while a window round suits glass and fascias with the drive as an extra. Jet washing and pressure washing name the same process in everyday use; softwashing is the different one, a low-pressure chemical clean for render and roofs. Say which surfaces you have and how big they are when you first enquire.
Pressure washing carries no mandatory licence, so there is no single number every firm must hold. What you can check is real all the same. Any firm carrying waste away can be searched by name on the Environment Agency public register of waste carriers, where several Telford firms in this round hold current upper-tier registrations [3]. For window work bundled with the wash, the Federation of Window Cleaners runs an enquiry form and replies with local members, who must carry liability cover and work to a code of good practice [4]. For high-access work over shops or offices, operators stating IPAF training carry a PAL Card backed by the access federation [5].
Telford adds a few local wrinkles. Parts of the borough sit in conservation areas, including the Severn Gorge around Ironbridge and the old centre of Wellington, where even minor exterior changes can need permission, so check the council's conservation pages before work spreads beyond the wash itself [7]. A wash changes nothing, but a new or replacement driveway over five square metres needs permeable surfacing or drainage to a border, or planning permission comes into play [8]. Wash water wants a plan too: let it soak into ground or borders rather than the road gully, since surface water reaching the public sewer can count toward drainage charges [10].
Ask what the wash will actually involve. Render, roof tiles and older mortar want softwash, not full pressure; block paving wants re-sanding after a deep clean, or weeds return within weeks and joints shift. A careful firm names the method per surface, says where the water comes from, usually your outdoor tap, and where the slurry drains. Firms in this round state cover in words rather than amounts, so ask to see the liability certificate itself and check the dates and limits read true for your job.
Get two or three written quotes on the same measured scope, ideally in square metres. Each quote should name the area, the cleaning method per surface, whether weed treatment, re-sanding or sealing is included or extra, who supplies the water, the start date and how long the job takes. Cost guides say a good quote confirms the area, the method and whether sealing or re-sanding sits inside the price [1]. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question, not a bargain.
A typical job runs the same course. You send the firm your surfaces with rough sizes and photos, and it replies with a visit or a written quote naming the method per surface. On the day it works through the areas one by one, then walks you round the finish before packing up. You pay the agreed balance once the walk-round reads right. Raise any fault while the kit is still on the drive: most are easiest to fix before anyone leaves.
Before the day, agree access: cars moved, a clear path to the work area, the outdoor tap reachable, and delicate beds or ponds pointed out. Ask how the firm keeps slurry out of drains and off your neighbour's wall, and what happens if oil stains or black lichen spots refuse to shift. Agree payment stages too: a small deposit for materials such as sealant is normal, while full payment before completion is not.
At the end, keep the quote, the invoice and any written guarantee on sealing work with your house papers, plus the before-and-after photos if the firm takes them. Note which surfaces were sealed and with what, since re-coats run on that record. If something goes wrong and the firm will not put it right, Citizens Advice sets out template letters and next steps for consumer disputes [6].
Paperwork matters here because the extras decide the price. The written quote should carry the firm's name and address, the measured area, the method per surface, weed treatment, re-sanding and sealing shown as included or extra, the water source, dates, the total with VAT inside or on top, and payment terms [1]. Check the name and address match the firm you researched, since that paper ties any later dispute to a real business. Moss and weeds the firm lifts belong in its waste; garden waste you clear yourself goes in the council's green bin, collected year-round in Telford [9].
Pricing
As of summer 2026, cost guides put a small driveway clean at around £250, a medium one at £350 and a large one at £400, with most firms charging £8.50 to £15.50 per square metre and hourly rates of £10 to £25 where time billing applies [1]. A medium driveway usually takes six to seven hours. Clean-and-seal jobs run higher: washing plus sealing a medium driveway lands near £700 [1].
Patios price lower per metre: slabs and concrete average £3 per square metre, block paving £3.50, timber decking £4.50, with cleaning plus sealing roughly doubling those figures [2]. Labour days sit at £250 to £350 [2]. None of the ranked firms publishes set prices, so treat every figure here as context for the quotes you collect, not as a quote itself.
Condition moves the price most: heavy moss, weeds, oil stains and black lichen spots all add time, and oil marks may carry an extra treatment charge [2]. Block paving adds re-sanding of the joints, render and roofs need slower softwash work, and awkward access or parking across Telford's estates adds labour. Ask whether combining driveway, patio and paths in one visit lowers the total.
Ask whether VAT sits inside or on top of each figure, since published ranges exclude it [1] [2]. Get the area, the method per surface, weed treatment, re-sanding, sealing, water supply and payment terms set down in a written quote before work starts, with sealing shown as its own line. Keep every quote, invoice and guarantee together where you can find them at sale or re-let.
Roofs and render sit outside the square-metre guides because access decides the day: height, tower or scaffold needs, lichen cover and the slower pace of softwash all stretch time, and hourly rates of £10 to £25 are where the guides land such work as of summer 2026 [1]. Whole-property and commercial cleans price by the list rather than the metre, with out-of-hours cover and waste removal as the extras to pin down. Whatever the shape, the guides agree on one habit: compare written quotes on identical scope, since method and extras move the total more than the headline rate [1] [2].
Red flags
Quotes a driveway or patio clean without asking the size, surface or condition, or seeing photos.
Treats render, roof tiles and old mortar with the same full pressure as concrete.
Leaves block paving without re-sanding the joints once the wash is done.
Lets slurry run toward drains, beds or a neighbour's wall with no plan for where the water goes.
Claims a registration but cannot give the number you could check on the public register [3].
Gives one fixed price with no breakdown of area, method, extras or VAT.
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms.
Offers a discount that only holds if you agree on the doorstep before getting another quote.
Gives no business address, landline or company record to tie the quote back to.