In short

  • We don't recommend pressure washing interlock yourself. It's always risky for the polymeric sand.
  • A narrow, direct jet wrecks the sand in the joints. That's the one thing to avoid.
  • If you do it anyway: low pressure and a flat fan nozzle, which spreads the pressure out.
  • A joint the washer emptied needs new sand. When in doubt, call a pro.

What the sand does in your joints

There's sand between your pavers, often polymeric sand: sand with a binder in it that hardens when you activate it with water.

When people want to clean interlock, the pressure washer is the first thing they reach for, and the sand is what it goes after.

Why a jet empties the joints

A narrow, direct jet puts all of its force on one spot. In a joint, that's what wrecks polymeric sand.

Even a washer held carefully carries that risk, so our short answer is that we don't advise doing it yourself.

If you do it anyway

Keep the pressure low. Use a flat nozzle, the kind that fans the water out, so the pressure spreads across a wider strip instead of hitting one spot. And never use the narrow direct jet. That's the one that destroys polymeric sand.

We don't give pressure figures or distances, on purpose: a number could cause damage.

Pavers to wash, or joints washed out?

We come look at your pavers and give you a price on the spot. Free, no commitment.

Free quote Call 819 328-2129

How we wash

Our wash empties the joints on purpose: old sand, moss and weeds all come out. We use commercial-grade equipment with a turbo nozzle, not the small nozzle most home washers ship with. Then we wait for everything to dry.

The new polymeric sand goes in on a later day, in three layers, so the joints are fully redone. We wash, then we refill. A wash on its own, without what comes after, leaves empty joints. The steps are in our article on how to redo the joints of interlock pavers.

When to call a pro

If you'd rather not take the risk, call a pro.

We can come and look. We'll tell you what we can do, or we'll simply redo your pavers.

Questions we get a lot

We don't give a number. Low pressure and a flat nozzle, never a narrow direct jet on the joints. The safest answer is not to do it.
Refill them with new polymeric sand, on dry joints, on a different day than the wash.
Yes. They are the same concrete paver with two names. Everything written here applies to both.

For the details of our wash, see the page on interlock cleaning in Gatineau. When the joints need redoing, that's our interlock repair page, and sealing comes after, on a separate visit. For a written price, we can come and look at your pavers.

Émile and Beckett, Duo Vert

Who writes these

We're Émile and Beckett, the two guys behind Duo Vert. We restore interlock in Gatineau and Ottawa, with our own team and no subcontractors. What's written here is what we see on real jobs.