Who this is for
- Villa owners who want the terrace and pool area to look as good as the house.
- Holiday-let owners getting ready for the season, when the outdoor space is half of what guests are paying for.
- Property managers looking after several villas, who need the job done between changeovers.
What outdoor tiles go through
- Sun-baked grime. Dust, sun cream, barbecue fat and spilled drinks, baked on by the sun until a mop just slides over it.
- Green and black spots in the grout. Algae and mould in shaded corners, along walls and where water sits after rain or irrigation.
- Pool-chemical and limescale marks. White rings and crusts where pool water and hard water dry on the tile, worst around the pool edge and outdoor showers.
- Dirt held in the texture. Outdoor porcelain is usually textured or anti-slip, which is good for wet feet but holds dirt in a way smooth indoor tiles don’t.
- Furniture and planter marks. Rust from chair feet, rings from pots, fertiliser stains.
Machine scrubbing or pressure washing?
Pressure washing is the obvious tool outside, and it has its place on walls and rough paving. On textured porcelain it often disappoints. The jet hits a small spot at a time, leaves stripes, and doesn’t get the grime out of the texture evenly. It can also blow soft or older grout out of the joints, and it sprays dirty water over walls, glass and planting.
A rotary machine scrubs the whole tile surface evenly under the pad, with a cleaner suited to the dirt. The texture gets worked rather than skimmed. The wet-vac then lifts the dirty water off the terrace instead of leaving it to dry back into the grout. For the tile surface, it is the more thorough way.
How we clean a terrace
- Clear and sweep. Furniture and pots moved where possible, leaves and loose dirt swept away.
- Check the surface and the edges. We confirm the tile is ceramic or porcelain, and look at the grout, drains, the pool edge and any stone copings.
- Pre-treat. An alkaline cleaner for grime and grease. Algae spots get a dedicated treatment. Limescale and pool marks get a mild acidic cleaner, used carefully and kept off natural stone and metal.
- Machine scrub. The rotary machine works tile and grout together, with extra brush work on green joints and corners.
- Wet-vac and rinse. We extract the dirty water, rinse and extract again, keeping it out of the pool.
More on the method: tile and grout deep cleaning.
What we don’t do
We don’t clean natural stone, wood or composite decking, or concrete. Copings, steps or sills in stone are protected while we work. Cleaning also can’t repair cracked or loose tiles, missing grout or glaze worn away by years of sun and traffic. If your photos show any of that, we’ll say so.
Price
€15 per m², grout included, the same as indoors. +€2/m² when a very dirty terrace needs an extra pass, +€5/m² for extreme build-up. Minimum job 50 m² (€750), and a terrace can be combined with indoor floors to reach it. We quote from photos: a wide shot, the worst corner close up, and the access. In the quote form, mention “outdoor terrace” in the notes.
Terrace and patio questions
Why not just pressure wash it?
A pressure washer blasts loose dirt off, but on textured porcelain it tends to leave the grime packed into the texture and can strip soft grout out of the joints. A rotary machine with the right pad scrubs the tile surface evenly, and a wet-vac takes the dirty water away instead of spraying it over walls and planting.
Do you clean natural stone patios?
No. We clean outdoor ceramic and porcelain only. Natural stone, including limestone and slate, needs different products and methods.
Will the green come back?
Algae grows back where water sits and the sun doesn’t reach, usually within a season or two in shaded spots. Cleaning resets it; good drainage, sweeping and a rinse now and then keep it back for longer.
Is the cleaning safe around the pool?
We keep rinse water and slurry out of the pool and extract it with a wet-vac. Tell us about the pool type and any edging stone when you send photos.
Can you remove rust or fertiliser stains?
Sometimes. Rust from furniture feet and fertiliser marks often lighten a lot; stains that have soaked into unglazed edges may not go completely. Send a close-up.
Also see: porcelain floor cleaning · ceramic floor cleaning · how to clean porcelain grout · areas we cover