How much does pressure washing cost in Sydney?
Getting a driveway pressure cleaned in Sydney costs $170–$460, typically $290, and operators who bill by the hour ask $46–$115. Washing down every outside wall runs $290–$805 on one level and $520–$1,275 across two. Sydney is a city of apartments as much as houses: flats make up 30.7% of dwellings, more than twice the 14.2% national share (ABS 2021 Census), so balconies, courtyards and shared driveways come up often. Before anyone turns a hose on a path, know that Sydney Water limits when hard surfaces may be cleaned with water. Prices include GST.
Comparing cities, or after the Australia-wide picture? See the national guide: Pressure washing cost in Australia.
Detailed Pricing — Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney 2026
| Service | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure washing (hourly rate) | $46/hr | $75 | $115 |
| Driveway cleaning (standard) | $170total | $290 | $460 |
| Full house exterior wash (single storey) | $290total | $485 | $805 |
| Full house exterior wash (double storey) | $520total | $860 | $1,275 |
| Deck / patio cleaning | $170total | $320 | $520 |
| Fence cleaning (per lm, one side, up to 1.8 m) | $6/lm | $12 | $21 |
| Roof cleaning (standard home) | $345total | $805 | $1,500 |
| Pool surrounds / paving | $170total | $320 | $435 |
| Concrete path / footpath | $115total | $160 | $255 |
| Brick, block or rendered wall clean (single wall, up to ~30 m²) | $140total | $185 | $345 |
| Soft wash, house exterior (single storey, walls + eaves) | $345total | $550 | $745 |
| Commercial building wash (low-rise, up to 3 storeys) | $460total | $920 | $2,300 |
| Mould treatment & wash (full exterior) | $345total | $630 | $1,025 |
| Mould-inhibitor treatment (add-on) | $57per job | $80 | $170 |
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Get Sydney quotes →Prices include GST. Based on Sydney metro area, October 2026. Outer suburbs may vary.
What Affects Pressure Washing Costs in Sydney
Sydney Water's hard-surface rule
Sydney Water's Water Wise Guidelines restrict washing driveways, paths, concrete and paved areas with water: it is allowed only where safety, health or an emergency calls for it, for construction work, or to deal with surface contamination. A slippery, mould-covered path is a plain safety case. A hose used for the job must have a trigger nozzle unless it is feeding high-pressure cleaning equipment.
Walls, roofs and windows
The same guidelines let you use drinking water at any time to wash building structures, including windows, walls, gutters and roofing, so a full house wash is not caught by the hard-surface limit. A roof clean costs $345–$1,500; too strong a jet can crack terracotta or strip the coating off concrete tiles, so choose someone who cleans roofs regularly.
Warm, damp and mouldy
Observatory Hill averages more than 100 mm of rain in every month from January to June, with June the wettest at 133.1 mm, and January's average minimum is 18.8 °C (BOM averages), a warm, damp mix in which mould, algae and lichen thrive on shaded walls and paving. Treating the mould and washing the whole exterior costs $345–$1,025; adding an inhibitor coat that holds regrowth back is $57–$170 more.
Apartment blocks and strata
What an apartment complex costs to wash is a common question: a low-rise building of up to three storeys runs $460–$2,300. Outside walls, driveways and shared paving in a strata scheme are usually common property, so the owners corporation books and pays for that work. A unit owner can still have a private balcony or courtyard done, at around the deck and patio rate of $170–$520.
Soft washing render and paint
For render and painted surfaces, operators turn the pressure right down and let a cleaning solution do the work, because a hard jet can strip paint and gouge render. A soft wash of a single-storey house's walls and eaves costs $345–$745; standard pressure work is charged at $46–$115 an hour. Cleaning a rendered, brick or block wall of up to roughly 30 m² costs $140–$345.
Fences, paths and pool paving
Fences are charged per lineal metre, $6–$21 a side, which puts a 20 m back fence at about $240 at the typical rate. A concrete path or footpath is $115–$255, and pool paving $170–$435. Wet algae beside a pool is a slip hazard, a safety reason under the water rules.
How to Save Money on Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney
Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney: What's Different Here
Most Sydney operators advertise it as pressure cleaning rather than pressure washing, but it is the same service and it is priced the same way: by the job, not by the square metre. What sets Sydney apart is the climate and the stone. Warm, humid summers and frequent rain mean black mould, algae and lichen build up on shaded, south-facing walls, paths and roofs faster than in drier cities, so a Sydney quote often includes a treatment step as well as the wash. A mould treatment and wash of a full exterior costs $345–$1,025 (typical $630), against $290–$805 for a straight house wash. The other local factor is sandstone. Sandstone steps, retaining walls and older facades are soft and porous, and so is the lime mortar in pre-war brick. High pressure scars both, so a good cleaner drops the pressure or uses a soft wash on them. Brick and rendered wall cleaning is priced at $140–$345, and it is worth asking how the pressure will be set before the work starts.
How Pressure Washing Costs Vary Across Sydney
Sydney's housing mix changes what a pressure cleaning quote covers from one side of the city to the other. In the eastern suburbs and the inner west, many terraces have no driveway at all: the job is a front path, a rear courtyard and a paved yard reached through the house, so access and hose runs matter more than area. A concrete path costs $115–$255, and a paved courtyard or pool surround $170–$435. On the North Shore and the Northern Beaches, larger blocks bring pool surrounds, sandstone and timber decks into the same quote, with decks at $170–$520, and salt air near the beaches leaves a film on balustrades and paving that comes back faster than it does inland. Across Western Sydney and the Hills, newer estates in areas like Kellyville, Box Hill and Oran Park tend to have wide concrete or exposed-aggregate driveways, and the driveway is usually the main line: a standard driveway clean costs $170–$460 (typical $290). If you want exposed aggregate resealed after cleaning, ask whether that is included, since it is a separate job.
Strata and Apartment Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney
Sydney has more apartments and strata schemes than any other Australian city, and they change how pressure cleaning is bought. Common property, such as driveways, car park ramps, bin rooms and building facades, is booked through the strata manager or owners corporation, not by individual owners. Work on a building of that size sits in the commercial building-wash band of $460–$2,300 (typical $920), and height, access equipment and after-hours work in car parks push a quote towards the top. For your own balcony or courtyard, check the building's by-laws first. Many schemes restrict wash water running onto the balconies below or onto common property, so a balcony clean is often done at low pressure with the runoff captured.
Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney and the Rules on Wash Water
Two local rules shape how a Sydney pressure cleaning job is done. Under Sydney Water's Water Wise Guidelines, cleaning driveways, paths and paved areas with drinking water is only allowed for safety, health, emergency, construction or surface-contamination reasons. When it is, high-pressure cleaning equipment is a permitted method. And in NSW, wash water carrying detergent, degreaser or mould treatment must not run into the stormwater drain, so a driveway that falls to the street needs a plan for the runoff whenever chemicals are used. That matters most for oil-stained driveways and for mould treatments, which cost $345–$1,025 for a full exterior. Ask the cleaner how they will handle the runoff: it is part of doing the job properly, not an optional extra.
Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney by Job Size
Take a terrace with no driveway, and say the job is a front path, a paved courtyard and 12 metres of fence on one side. At $115–$255 for the path, $170–$435 for the courtyard on the paving row and $6–$21 a metre for the fence, the three come to $357–$942.
In Sydney a job moves with access more than area. A terrace reached through the house adds hose runs, while sandstone steps and older brick may call for a soft wash. A second storey moves the house wash from $290–$805 to $520–$1,275, and a strata building leaves these household rows for the building wash at $460–$2,300.
Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney: What the Quote Should Include
A Sydney pressure cleaning quote has to match the property it is written for, whether that is a terrace with a courtyard instead of a driveway, a house with sandstone steps or a unit in a strata building. Each surface should appear as its own line.
- For a terrace, the front path, rear courtyard and any paved yard reached through the house listed one by one, with the hose runs from the tap noted.
- Sandstone steps, retaining walls and older brick marked for a lower pressure or a soft wash, with the method written next to each one.
- The driveway on its own line at $170–$460, saying whether it is plain concrete or exposed aggregate and whether resealing is included or priced as a separate job.
- Balustrades and paving near the beaches, where salt air leaves a film, listed as their own surfaces rather than rolled into the house wash.
- Mould and algae on shaded south-facing walls and paths shown as a treatment line at $345–$1,025, with any inhibitor coat of $57–$170 shown apart.
- The house wash with its storeys stated, $290–$805 for single and $520–$1,275 for double, and gutters and eaves marked as in or out.
- For a strata building, the common areas named and the quote addressed to the strata manager or owners corporation, with the building wash read against $460–$2,300.
- Public liability insurance named, with a line saying who pays for damage to windows, paint or plants.
- Measured areas priced as set jobs, or, if hourly at $46–$115 an hour, the hours expected stated, then the start date, payment stages and GST.
Frequently Asked Questions — Pressure Washing Cost in Sydney
Our Methodology
These are independent estimates from public cost guides, marketplaces and industry rate data, and no tradesperson can influence them, so always get a few quotes. Last reviewed October 2026. Read our full methodology →