Can sealed pavers be pressure washed without harming the sealer?

For sealed pavers, the documents that set pressure for bare pavers go quiet.

The one maker line that speaks to it is a caution without a number. SEK-Surebond's maintenance instructions for its SB-1300 sealer say: “When using a pressure washer, do not use excessive pressure as it may erode joint sand and/or damage the surface.” Two reasons sit in that sentence, the joint sand and the surface, and no PSI.

ICPI's pressure range is written for cleaning unsealed interlocking concrete pavers before a sealer goes on, and the figures for bare concrete pavers, clay brick and travertine are under pressure limits by paver material. None of them carries over to a sealed surface.

The same SEK-Surebond sheet puts a plainer step ahead of the pressure washer.

“To prevent build-up of dirt, grime and stains, rinse surface regularly with clean water,” it says. That instruction is written for SB-1300; another sealer's maintenance sheet is the reference for another product. Routine care between professional cleanings is covered under cleaning sealed pavers between visits.

Pressure is not the only way a wash removes sealer.

ASCC's Decorative Concrete Council, writing about concrete sealers, warns: “Be aware that many concrete floor cleaners contain chemicals that strip and remove a small layer of the sealer.” Makers answer with cleaners labeled for the job: Techniseal describes its Dirt & Grease Cleaner as “Ideal for sealed surfaces and fresh stains,” which is that maker's description of its own product.

Reading a cleaner's label for the word sealed is the same kind of check as reading a sealer's sheet for pressure.

SEK-Surebond's first reason points at the joints, not the paver face.

Where the sealer also binds the joints, Techniseal's Natural Look (NS) Protector data sheet adds a caution of its own: “Frequent and aggressive maintenance will affect aggregate joint binding.” How a sealer or a polymeric sand holds joints together is under joint stabilization, and whether a cleaning can loosen them is answered under can paver cleaning damage the joints.

When a sealed surface is worn and due for a fresh coat, the cleaning before it is a different job again.

“Prior to resealing, the area should be systematically cleaned with a walk-behind scrubber, power washer, or given a thorough hand scrubbing,” ASCC writes, with detergents rinsed off and the surface dry before sealer goes back on. A power washer is one of three tools it names, not the rule.

Whether that fresh coat is simple depends on the family: ICPI says worn acrylics can be cleaned and resealed, while urethanes do not renew by re-coating alone, a difference laid out under what a sealer is carried in and how it renews. Whether sealed pavers are easier to clean than bare ones is its own question.