How we chose
We started from the twenty-five pressure washing candidates showing across Telford. Schemes and registrations were sourced from the Environment Agency waste-carrier register, each firm's own site and the platforms carrying its reviews [3] [4] [5]. Every business first meets our three checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Ten firms met all three. What customers say counts most toward the score, then qualifications, then trading history and stated cover, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
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].
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.
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].
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.
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.
The bottom line
For most Telford homes with a tired drive or patio, start with JetOWash: one firm for the whole exterior, commercial-grade kit and the deepest review record in the round. Its paperwork is thin on prices and insurance amounts, so get both confirmed on your quote before work starts.
Match the firm to the job around it: Anthony's Garden Services where washing sits inside garden upkeep, Sanis where the whole property needs doing inside and out, Severn Valley or Spitfire for render and roof work that needs softwash rather than force. Then get two or three written quotes on the same measured scope and pick the firm whose method, extras and paperwork read clearest.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.