Concrete Cleaning — Millswyn Street, South Yarra

The site drain serving the paved area was blocked, so water had nowhere to go once cleaning started. Surface water pooled across the concrete instead of draining away, lifting dirt and then letting it settle back as the water sat. Blocked drains behave this way long before anyone notices: silt and leaf matter build up in the channel and outlet, and the problem only shows during heavy rain or washing, when standing water spreads across the slab and towards the house.

The drain was cleared first, before any cleaning of the concrete. Washing a slab while the outlet is blocked simply moves dirt into standing water and redeposits it once the surface dries, so the drainage had to work before the surface could be finished properly. With water running away freely, the concrete was cleaned across the full area and rinsed so that the loosened material left the slab through the drain rather than settling back into the surface.

• Inspected and cleared the blocked site drain
• Checked that water ran away freely before cleaning
• Cleaned the concrete paving across the full area
• Rinsed the surface so loosened material left through the drain

• Drain clear and taking water again
• Concrete cleaned evenly with no redeposited dirt
• Single operator on site, four hours