By the M&T Elite Cleaning team, exterior cleaning specialists serving Kent, Medway and the Southeast since 2020.
Quick answer: Patio cleaning in Kent typically costs between £3 and £8 per square metre in 2026, with most jobs landing between £120 and £400. Concrete slabs and block paving sit at the lower end, around £3 to £5 per square metre. Indian sandstone, limestone and porcelain cost more, around £5 to £8 per square metre, because they need lower pressure and slower, more careful work. Almost every Kent company applies a minimum charge of roughly £80 to £120, so a small courtyard costs about the same as a 25 square metre patio. Re-sanding, repointing and sealing are charged separately and are usually what turns a £150 quote into a £400 one.
If you only take one thing from this guide, take this: the price per square metre tells you very little on its own. What actually decides your final bill is the surface material, the state of the joints and whether the patio is being restored or simply rinsed.
Patio cleaning prices in Kent at a glance
The table below reflects what homeowners across Kent and Medway are quoted in 2026, based on typical UK market rates and on the jobs we price week to week in Rochester, Maidstone, Chatham, Sevenoaks and Canterbury.
| Patio surface | Typical rate per m2 | 20m2 patio | 40m2 patio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete slabs | £3 to £5 | £80 to £120 (minimum charge applies) | £120 to £200 | Hardest wearing, tolerates rotary cleaning well |
| Block paving | £3 to £5.25 | £80 to £120 | £140 to £210 | Kiln dried sand replacement is essential afterwards |
| Indian sandstone | £5 to £8 | £100 to £160 | £200 to £320 | Soft and porous, needs reduced pressure |
| Limestone and riven natural stone | £5 to £8 | £100 to £160 | £200 to £320 | Easily etched, no turbo nozzles |
| Porcelain | £4 to £7 | £90 to £140 | £160 to £280 | Low porosity, mostly a surface film to remove |
| Resin bound | £4 to £7 | £90 to £140 | £160 to £280 | Pressure limits apply or the resin matrix lifts |
Add-on services, priced separately:
| Extra | Typical Kent price | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Kiln dried sand re-sanding | £1 to £2 per m2 | Any block paving clean, without exception |
| Repointing joints | £8 to £20 per linear metre | Crumbling, hollow or washed out mortar |
| Sealing | £5 to £12 per m2 | After cleaning, for stain resistance and colour |
| Weed and moss biocide treatment | £30 to £80 per visit | Heavy organic growth, north facing patios |
Prices assume reasonable access, an outside tap or water supply and a patio that has been cleaned at least once in the last five years. A patio that has never been touched can take twice as long and is priced accordingly.
Why does patio cleaning cost more in Kent than the national average?
Two reasons, and both are genuine rather than a regional markup.
The first is geology and climate. Kent and Medway sit in a mild, damp corner of the country with heavy clay and chalk soils. That combination is close to perfect for algae, lichen and moss. North facing patios in places like Rochester, Strood and Chatham regenerate a green film within a season, which means more contact time and more product per visit than a drier inland job.
The second is what people have laid. Indian sandstone has been the dominant patio material in Kent new builds and garden renovations for over a decade, and it is one of the least forgiving surfaces to clean. It is softer and more porous than concrete, so it has to be cleaned slowly at reduced pressure. Slow work costs more than fast work.
Regionally, the Southeast sits at the top of the UK range for exterior cleaning, roughly £4 to £5 per square metre against £3 to £4 in the North, Wales and Scotland.
What is actually included in a patio clean?
This is where quotes diverge most, and where cheap quotes usually hide their savings. A proper patio clean has four stages:
- Inspection and pre-treatment. Identifying the surface material, checking joint condition and applying a biocide to kill organic growth at the root rather than just blasting the surface green away.
- Cleaning. Usually a rotary flat surface cleaner rather than a handheld lance, because a rotary head applies even pressure and does not leave stripes.
- Joint and edge detailing. Hand work along the edges, steps and against the house wall where a rotary head cannot reach.
- Rinse, re-sand and inspection. Flushing the debris away, replacing displaced jointing sand and walking the job with the customer.
A quote that only covers stage two is not a patio clean. It is a rinse, and you will see the difference within a year.
Why does re-sanding matter so much?
Every pressure clean displaces jointing sand. That is not a sign of bad work, it is unavoidable physics. The problem is what happens if it is not replaced.
Open joints let water sit under the slabs, let blocks rock and shift, and give weed seeds a bare, damp seedbed to land in. A patio that has been cleaned and left un-sanded will typically look worse eighteen months later than a patio that was never cleaned at all. Fresh kiln dried sand brushed into the joints once the surface is fully dry locks the blocks together and denies weeds a foothold.
On mortar pointed patios the equivalent question is repointing. If the existing pointing is hollow, cracked or already washing out, a clean will finish the job of removing it. In that case the honest answer is that the patio needs repointing rather than just cleaning, and any old failed material has to be cut out properly before new compound goes in, or the new joint sits on dust and fails again.
We price this openly. A recent patio clean and re-point in Maidstone was quoted as two line items rather than one, because the customer deserved to see which part of the cost was cleaning and which was masonry repair.
Can you pressure wash an Indian sandstone patio safely?
Yes, but only within limits, and this is the single most common way a DIY patio job goes wrong.
Indian sandstone is soft and porous. Too much pressure strips the surface skin off the stone, opens the pores so it soils faster afterwards, and leaves permanent "tiger stripe" etching. The damage is not reversible. Safe practice looks like this:
- Keep the pressure below roughly 120 bar (about 1,750 PSI) for riven sandstone
- Use a 25 or 40 degree wide fan nozzle, or better, a flat rotary surface cleaner
- Never use a pencil jet (0 degree) or turbo nozzle on natural stone
- Hold the lance at least 300mm from the surface, at around 45 degrees
- Work the dirt off the patio, not out of it, which means angling away from joints
Domestic pressure washers from a DIY shed often run at higher pressure than is safe for sandstone with a narrow default nozzle fitted. That combination is exactly how homeowners etch their own patios. The same principle applies on roofs, which is why we treat delicate surfaces with low pressure and chemistry rather than force. If you want the longer version of that argument, our guide to soft washing vs pressure washing explains where each method belongs.
Should you seal your patio after cleaning?
Sealing is optional, not automatic, and it is worth understanding what you are buying.
Sealing is usually worth it if: you have Indian sandstone or limestone that stains easily, the patio is used for dining and barbecues, or you want to lock in the colour after a restoration clean.
Sealing is usually not worth it if: the patio is porcelain (it barely absorbs anything), the surface is due for replacement within a couple of years, or the joints need repointing first.
Two rules matter. Sealer only ever goes on a fully clean and fully dry surface, otherwise you seal the dirt in. And if the patio has just been repointed, the jointing compound needs to cure before any sealer or pressure goes near it.
The same logic applies to hard landscaping generally, and we walk through the full sequence in our driveway cleaning and sealing process guide.
How often should a Kent patio be cleaned?
For most Kent homes, once every twelve to eighteen months keeps a patio safe and presentable. North facing patios, patios under trees and anything near the Medway or the coast tend to need annual attention. South facing, open patios can often stretch to two years.
The trigger to watch for is not appearance, it is grip. A patio that feels slick underfoot after rain has a live algae film on it, and that is a genuine slip hazard rather than a cosmetic issue. It is also the point at which the clean gets harder and therefore more expensive, so waiting rarely saves money.
Timing within the year matters too. Late spring through early autumn gives the surface time to dry properly for re-sanding and sealing. Winter cleans are perfectly possible but the drying window is tighter. Our guide on when to clean your driveway in Kent covers the seasonal reasoning in more depth and applies equally to patios.
Is a cheap patio clean ever worth it?
Sometimes, and it is worth being honest about that. If you have a small concrete slab patio in good condition with sound joints and you simply want the green off before visitors arrive, a £99 rinse is fine value.
It stops being fine value when any of these are true:
- The patio is natural stone, where the wrong pressure causes permanent damage
- The joints are already loose or washing out
- The patio has not been cleaned in five years or more
- You are cleaning to sell the house and need it to still look right in three months
In those cases the cheap quote is not a cheaper version of the same job. It is a different, smaller job with your patio carrying the risk.
Get a fixed price for your patio in Kent
We quote patio work on a fixed price after seeing the surface, the size and the joint condition, so there are no surprises on the day. We are family run, fully insured, rated 4.9 from over 50 local reviews, and we have cleaned patios everywhere from Vigo Village and Cooling to Canterbury, Sevenoaks, Deal and across the Medway towns.
Get a free, no obligation patio cleaning quote or explore our professional patio cleaning service in Kent. If the drive needs doing at the same time, we usually discount the combined job, so ask about driveway cleaning and decking cleaning when you get in touch.
Call 07862712401 or message us on WhatsApp for a same week quote.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to jet wash a patio in the UK? Between £3 and £8 per square metre in 2026, depending on the surface. Most UK patio cleaning jobs come to between £120 and £400 in total, with a minimum charge of around £80 to £120 for small areas.
How much does patio cleaning cost in Kent specifically? Kent and the wider Southeast sit at the upper end of the UK range, roughly £4 to £8 per square metre, because of the prevalence of soft natural stone and the damp climate that drives heavier algae growth.
Why is Indian sandstone more expensive to clean? It is softer and more porous than concrete, so it has to be cleaned at reduced pressure with a wide fan or rotary head. The work takes longer, and the risk of permanent surface damage means it cannot be rushed.
Do I need to re-sand my patio after cleaning? If it is block paving or sand jointed, yes. Cleaning always displaces some jointing sand, and leaving joints open causes weeds, movement and standing water. Kiln dried sand should be brushed in once the surface is fully dry.
Can I clean my own patio instead? You can, on concrete or block paving in sound condition. On Indian sandstone, limestone or resin, the risk of etching or lifting the surface with a domestic machine is high, and the damage cannot be undone.
How often should a patio be cleaned in Kent? Every twelve to eighteen months for most homes. Annually for north facing patios, shaded gardens or properties near the Medway and the coast.
Does patio cleaning include weed removal? A professional clean removes weeds and their surface growth, and a biocide treatment kills the organic material at the root. Weeds return faster if joints are left un-sanded, which is why re-sanding is part of a proper job.
How long does a patio clean take? A typical 30 square metre patio takes half a day including pre-treatment and re-sanding. A neglected patio or one needing repointing can take a full day or more.
