Exterior Cleaning Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at xtxltd@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
We offer a wide range of exterior cleaning services and are constantly evolving to suit our customers' needs. We currently clean roofs, patios, driveways, render, walls, gutters, soffits and fascias etc. If a service you require is not listed please ask. If we don't offer the service we may be able to put you in touch with somebody who does.
We are based in Worcester in the West Midlands and we try and work locally if we can. Doing this means we are able to offer the highest quality service and aftercare for our customers. If we spread ourselves too far and wide there is a risk we won't be able to offer the level of service we strive for.
We cover Worcester and the surrounding area, such as Martley, Hallow, Rushwick, Droitwich, Clifton, Bransford, Crowle, Broadheath and Malvern.
Yes, we are fully insured for the work we carry out. We have £2 million public liability insurance. We are covered for working up to 10m off the ground and 3m below ground.
We have also had City&Guilds accredited biocide training for the chemicals we use for exterior cleaning.
We generally price our jobs based on the square metreage of the area to be cleaned, ensuring an exact price with no hidden costs. We do have minimum charges for most of our services because of the logistics and overhead costs involved.
We can give a rough estimate of costs for most jobs remotely, by using online measuring tools but we prefer to visit your property to measure up properly, discuss your requirements, check access and the water pressure etc.
Although there is a water tank on board the van, this is a buffer tank. We connect our water hose from your garden tap (or inside tap if there is no outside tap) to the header/buffer tank in the van. This keeps the buffer tank topped up while our pressure washer uses the water from the buffer tank. Professional-grade pressure washers can't draw enough water directly from an outside tap, hense the need for a buffer tank. The average clean should not use more than around £8 worth of water if you are on a water meter.
Generally, we use industry-standard chemicals to ensure a professional high-quality finish.
High-pressure water alone cannot always effectively remove black spot, tough stains and lichen.
We can offer a chemical-free option, but you may need to lower your expectations of how well the surface can be cleaned.
There are also some eco/environmentally friendly products on the market, which we can offer.
Most of the industry-standard chemicals we use are rinsed off after they have helped clean the surface. The treatments that are left on are generally child and pet-safe once they are dry.
We will email you an invoice on completion, which is payable within 7 days
The invoice email has the option to pay by bank transfer (our preferred method) or by card.
We do accept cash but it gets processed through our books for tax purposes.
We do not accept payments by cheque or postal order.
For larger multi-day bookings and jobs requiring significant materials such as chemicals, jointing compound etc, we require a deposit to secure the materials as most of the materials we use are special order and can't be refunded.
Once we have begun preparing for your job and purchasing materials, these deposits become non-refundable upon cancellation. Smaller jobs that utilise our existing stock generally do not require a deposit. This policy ensures fair treatment and efficient scheduling for all our valued clients.
Yes, we can discuss customised maintenance plans tailored to your needs to keep your exterior spaces looking pristine year-round. It is often more cost-effective to maintain a cleaned surface than it is to clean it from scratch each time, not to mention the look of a dirty surface between cleans.
Our normal working hours are typically between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.
We can however work outside these hours to work around your business hours, planned shut-downs or school holidays etc.
We will usually bag up any waste for you to dispose of.
Alternatively, it can be placed in your garden waste bin for the council to collect.
Organic waste makes great compost. It can be spread in your flower beds or hedgerows.
If required, we can arrange for waste to be collected by a waste removal company. This will incur an additional cost.
Sadly there is no way prevent weeds from growing out of your patio/driveway. Birds and the wind spread seeds and they soon take hold. The only way to get rid of them is to either pull them up or spray them with a weedkiller.
The short answer is no.
We offer a maintenance package, where we treat your surfaces with an HSE approved biocide to keep moss and algae at bay for extended periods. Although biocides can damage or kill plants, they are not a weed killer, nore do they prevent weed growth. If you want to control weeds you will need to use a dedicated weed killer or manually remove them.
No, but they can slow down their return. Weed seeds are blown onto your patio/driveway or deposited on them by birds. A properly applied sealer can make it more difficult for seeds to take root but it is not a guaranteed way to prevent weed growth.
Yes and no. Depending on the surface the oil has been spilled onto, how long the oil has been allowed to soak into the surface and the type of oil, will depend on how effective an oil removal treatment will be. The less porous the surface and the quicker the surface is treated, the better the results will be.
Oil can damage tarmac surfaces to the point where the stained section of tarmac will need to be replaced, so it is best to treat it straight away.
Rust stains are fairly common on exterior surfaces. They are usually caused by metal patio furniture, builder's skips etc. The good news is it is possible to treat rust stains and either completely remove them or significantly reduce the severity of the stains. It depends on the surface and how deep the stain is.
If your period property has been painted with modern paints there is a good chance you will have damp issues unless the paint is removed and the building is allowed to breathe.
The good news is there are number of ways we can tackle the paint removal, depending on the surface and type of paint. We can use chemical paint strippers, steam and in extreme cases it may need media blasting or DOFF to remove the paint.
We can remove graffiti from multiple surfaces, including bricks, painted surfaces, glass, metalwork, plastic etc. Graffiti can usually be removed without damaging the surface or coating it has been sprayed onto, which means you won't need to repaint or powdercoat your surfaces.
