The brief
Booking the terrace and the windows together saves a visit. It only saves you money if they are done in the right order.
This apartment in Vilamoura had two separate problems. The terrace had gone grey and patchy the way outdoor stone does here once a season of dust, pollen and organic growth has settled into it. The exterior glass had the usual coastal salt film, plus splash marks around the doors at the level people walk past.
The obvious answer is one visit for both, and that is what was quoted. The less obvious part is sequencing. A pressure washer atomises whatever it hits and sends it several metres in every direction, so a terrace being cleaned puts a fine mist of dirty water onto every pane facing it. If you clean the glass first you pay for it twice.
So the terrace came first, the glass second, and the doors and lower panes were checked again at the end because they sit closest to the work.
How we worked it
Pressure washing first, with the pressure and detergent matched to the surface rather than turned up to whatever the machine will do. Then traditional window cleaning: applicator and solution on, squeegee off, microfibre to detail the edges, frames and tracks.
Terrace first, glass second
This is the order for a reason. Pressure washing throws water and fine grit several metres, so any glass cleaned beforehand gets sprayed and has to be done again. Combining the two services only saves a visit if the sequence respects that.
Pressure set to the stone, not to the machine
Algarve terraces are often soft stone or a sealed finish, and too much pressure takes the surface off along with the dirt. The pressure and the detergent get matched to what is actually down there, which sometimes means a slower job.
Edges, joints and the perimeter by hand
The parts a machine cannot do evenly, the joints, the edges against the wall and around drains, get worked separately so the finished terrace does not have a clean middle and a dirty border.
Rinsed down and left to settle
The terrace is rinsed off properly and given time before anyone touches the glass, so airborne overspray has come down rather than drying onto a freshly pulled pane.
Exterior glass, top down
Then the windows. Higher panes before lower ones on each elevation, salt film washed off wet rather than wiped, edges and frames detailed.
The doors checked last
Patio doors sit right beside the work and are the panes most likely to catch something late, so they are checked again in raking light at the very end before the kit goes back.
What was included
- Terrace pressure washed, pressure matched to the surface
- Edges, joints and perimeter worked by hand
- Terrace rinsed down
- Planters and furniture moved clear, then put back
- Every reachable exterior pane
- Sliding patio doors, outside face
- Frames, sills and tracks
- Glass rechecked after the pressure washing
The result
What pressure washing will not fix
Pressure washing takes off what is sitting on the stone. It does not undo what has happened to the stone itself. If a terrace has been sealed and the seal has failed patchily, or if something has been left long enough to stain into the surface, cleaning it will make it uniform and much better but not new.
Shading is the other one people are surprised by. Where planters and furniture have sat for years, the stone underneath has weathered differently to the stone around it, and once everything is clean that difference is visible. That is the stone telling the truth, not a patchy clean, and we point it out before starting.
Common questions
Can you do the patio and the windows on the same visit?
Yes, and it is worth doing. It saves a mobilisation and it means the two jobs are sequenced properly, with the pressure washing finished and rinsed before any glass is touched.
Why does the order matter?
A pressure washer sends water and fine grit several metres through the air. Glass cleaned before the terrace gets sprayed and has to be redone, so you would be paying for the same windows twice. Terrace first, glass second, every time.
Will pressure washing damage my terrace?
Not at the right pressure. The risk comes from treating every surface the same and turning the machine up. We match pressure and detergent to the stone, and on softer finishes like marble and calcário that means working at low pressure and taking longer.
Do you clean up afterwards?
Yes. The terrace is rinsed down and the run-off directed rather than left to dry in a tide line. The glass is checked in raking light at the end because the doors and lower panes sit closest to the pressure washing.
Do you cover Vilamoura?
Yes. Vilamoura is inside our core round along with Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo, Almancil, Loulé and Quarteira, so it is a local job for us rather than a trip.
