Porcelain Patio Cleaning

The job

This porcelain patio in Oldham had been down for a few years and hadn't been cleaned since installation. It had developed a heavy coating of green algae across the whole surface, with patches of black spot lichen beginning to establish in the more shaded areas near the fence.

The customer had tried a domestic pressure washer on it and found it made little difference — the algae kept returning within weeks and the lichen wasn't shifting at all.

Why porcelain needs a careful approach

Porcelain is a premium paving material and it needs to be treated differently from block paving or concrete. The main concerns are:

• Pressure — too high and you risk damaging the surface finish or forcing water under the tiles if they're not perfectly bedded
• Chemicals — some acidic or bleach-based cleaners will dull or stain porcelain; you need products that are pH-safe
• Rotary heads — we use a surface cleaner rather than a lance to ensure even cleaning without streaks or lines

Getting any of these wrong can cause damage that's expensive or impossible to fix without relaying the paving. This is the main reason DIY results are often poor on porcelain.

How we cleaned it

1. Pre-soaked the entire patio surface with a professional algae and lichen treatment
2. Left it to dwell for 20 minutes, then agitated with a stiff broom on the lichen patches
3. Pressure washed using a rotary surface cleaner at the correct pressure for porcelain
4. Rinsed the whole area down and checked for any remaining spots
5. Applied a biocide post-treatment to slow regrowth

The result

The patio came back completely clean — the natural colour of the porcelain restored, the surface looking essentially as it did when it was first laid. The customer said it looked like new tiles had been installed.

The whole job took just under two hours. With the biocide post-treatment applied, regrowth should be significantly slower — typically 18–24 months before another clean is needed, rather than 6–12 months without it.