Can red clay stains come off concrete?

Usually they can be lightened a lot, and fresh ones often come off completely. Red clay gets its color from iron, so older stains sometimes need a cleaner made for that kind of staining on top of hot water and a surface cleaner. Stains that have been baking into the concrete for years may not come all the way out, and a straight-shooting contractor will say so up front.

How often should a drive-thru get pressure washed?

Busy drive-thrus are often washed monthly, and some get it more often in summer when grease and spilled drinks bake onto the concrete fast. Quieter sites can stretch it out. The idea is to clean it before grease soaks deep into the pores, because once it does, every wash takes longer and the stain never quite goes away.

Will they need to shut down our entrance?

Not usually all at once. Most crews work one section at a time and keep at least one way in open, with wet surface signs out. If you only have one door, early morning or after close is the way to go. Let the contractor know your hours, deliveries and any spots that can't be blocked when you ask for a quote.

Why would a contractor soft wash instead of pressure wash?

Because some surfaces can't take the pressure. Painted walls, stucco, vinyl siding, wood trim and fabric awnings can get etched, stripped or soaked behind if you blast them. Soft washing puts on a cleaning solution at low pressure, gives it time to break down dirt and mildew, then rinses it off gently. Concrete flatwork still gets the higher pressure treatment.

Is there any charge to ask for a quote?

None at all. It's free to request a quote here, and you're under no obligation to hire anybody.

Do you do the cleaning yourselves?

No, we don't. Little Rock Janitorial Services isn't a cleaning company. It's a free service that matches quote requests. We pass yours to one or more independent companies in the Little Rock area that do commercial cleaning, and the company you hear from gives the quote and does the work.

Commercial Pressure Washing Services in Little Rock, AR

This is about commercial property, not your driveway at home. For concrete, most crews use a surface cleaner, a round machine with spinning nozzles underneath, which cleans in even passes instead of the zebra stripes you get from a wand. Hot water makes a big difference on the greasy patch outside a restaurant's back door, oil stains in the parking lot and gum ground into the walk. Walls are a different story. Too much pressure can etch brick, peel paint, chew up wood and drive water behind siding, so the crew switches to soft washing and lets the solution do the work.

Expect the crew to show up early, late or on a weekend, and to work one section at a time so customers and staff can still get in the door. They'll tape over outdoor outlets and light fixtures and put out wet surface signs on the walks. Ask where the dirty water's going. Under local stormwater rules, soapy, oily runoff generally can't just wash into the storm drain, so a good contractor blocks the drains, vacuums up the water or sends it somewhere approved. And ask for proof of liability insurance before anybody starts spraying.

A lot of jobs go sideways for the same few reasons. Somebody turns the pressure all the way up on a painted wall or old brick and leaves marks that won't wash off. A drive-thru gets cleaned once a year when it really needed it every month, so the grease has soaked in deep. Shaded walls get rinsed without a cleaner that kills mildew, so the green film is back in a few weeks. And a property gets washed right before a stretch of storms, which just means hosing red mud off the walks all over again.

What Central Arkansas weather leaves on your property

Little Rock's spring storms dump heavy rain, and that rain carries red clay out of landscaping beds and onto sidewalks, curbs and the bottom of building walls. Once it dries, it leaves a reddish stain that a garden hose won't touch. Then the long, hot, humid summer takes over, and shaded walls, north-facing walks and covered entries can grow mildew and green film. Government buildings and professional offices downtown, medical facilities and the retail centers along the I-430 and I-630 corridors all deal with it. Busy sites with food service add grease at drive-thru windows and around the dumpster.

A lot of places book a full wash once spring storms settle down, so they aren't paying to clean up the same mud twice. Restaurants and shops in West Little Rock, Conway and Bryant often keep drive-thru lanes and dumpster pads on a monthly route, usually first thing in the morning before the lunch rush. Light industrial buildings in North Little Rock tend to want loading docks done on a weekend. Offices in Maumelle, Sherwood and Benton more often plan a walkway and entry wash a couple of times a year.

What goes into a Little Rock pressure washing quote

How much ground there is: Big open stretches of concrete go fast with a surface cleaner. Lots of curbs, steps, columns and corners slow things down, and so do walls that need soft washing instead of pressure.
What's stuck on it: Fresh dirt rinses off easy. Set-in red clay, months of drive-thru grease, oil stains and mildew all take pretreatment, hot water and more time than a routine wash.
Where the water goes: If the crew has to block storm drains, vacuum up the runoff or haul it to an approved spot, that means more equipment and more setup time on site.
When it can happen: Early mornings, overnight or Sunday work, plus washing in sections so the doors stay open, all change how the crew plans the day and what the job runs.

What a pressure washing schedule usually looks like

What gets done	How often
Drive-thru lanes	Monthly is common for busy sites
Dumpster pads and enclosures	Monthly or every other month
Sidewalks and entries	Every 1 to 3 months
Storefronts and awnings	A few times a year
Building walls, soft wash	Once a year or when mildew shows
Loading docks	Every 2 to 3 months

Treat this like a rough starting point, not something set in stone. The company will tweak it once they've seen your building and heard how you use it.

What's typically covered

Surface cleaner on walks and entries
Hot water for grease, oil and gum
Soft washing for walls, siding and stucco
Red clay stain treatment
Mildew treatment on shaded surfaces
Drive-thru lanes and dumpster pads
Outlets and fixtures covered first
Drain blocking and runoff control

The exact tasks and schedule get worked out between you and the company when they put your quote together.

Service areas

Businesses all over the Little Rock area send us pressure washing requests, from Downtown Little Rock, West Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Benton, Bryant and beyond. See all areas.