Concrete, stamped and paver driveways cleaned so the stain leaves, the slab surface stays intact, and the wash water never reaches a storm drain.
Driveway cleaning in Dunwoody removes deposits that sit on the same slab at once: biological growth, iron oxide from Georgia red clay, tannin from leaf litter, tree resin, and petroleum staining under the parking positions. Each answers to different chemistry, which is why a driveway washed with pressure alone comes back lighter but still orange in the tire tracks and still dark under the cars.
Dunwoody driveways stain faster than driveways in newer, open subdivisions because Dunwoody kept its tree canopy. Mature oaks, maples, pines and sweetgums shade most of the residential street grid, a shaded slab stays damp for hours after every rain, and the leaf litter that lands on it supplies the tannin.
Underneath that canopy sits Georgia Piedmont red clay. Vehicles leaving a Dunwoody driveway cross shoulders and bed edges, and the clay comes back on the tires, so red clay staining builds in two bands running from the street to the garage.
Age is the third factor. Many driveways in the established Dunwoody neighborhoods were poured decades ago with a broom finish, and that texture, designed to hold water for traction, also holds algae, clay and tannin. On most Dunwoody driveways the discoloration is deposit, not damage.
Thrare Contracting cleans six driveway surface types in Dunwoody, each with its own pressure setting and chemistry. The surface is identified on arrival, before any water is turned on, because the wrong setting on a decorative surface is not reversible.
A driveway is cleaned without etching when the cleaning solution breaks the bond and the water is used only to rinse the released material away. Etching, wand marks and the striped zebra pattern are all symptoms of one mistake: using pressure to do work chemistry should have done. Two controls prevent it. A rotary surface cleaner spreads the flow across a wide bar at a fixed height instead of concentrating a jet in one line, and the pre-treatment is given dwell time before anything is rinsed.
For paver driveways there is a published range to work inside. The Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, formerly the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, states in its cleaning standard that "A high pressure sprayer applies cleaner and water between 1,000 and 4,000 psi (6.9 and 27.6 MPa), and at a rate between 2 and 6 gallons/minute (7.6 and 22.7 liters/minute)" (PAV-TEC-005-22, read 2026-08-31). The same standard specifies far lower pressure for chemical work: "Cleaners to remove efflorescence are applied with a low pressure pump spray 30 to 100 psi (0.2 to 0.7 MPa)."
CMHA governs the nozzle as well as the number, writing that "A nozzle that creates a wide spray enables a large area to be covered efficiently and prevents sand from being washed from the joints", and that "A low angle of attack from a wide nozzle spray will also reduce the risk of dislodging joint sand." Joint sand is structural on an interlocking pavement, so a paver driveway cleaned with a narrow jet can look clean on the day and start moving underfoot a season later.
Poured concrete has no equivalent published number, and Thrare Contracting does not invent one. The setting on a poured slab comes from a test pass in a low visibility corner.
A Dunwoody driveway cleaning runs in eight steps, and containment is set before any chemistry is applied.
The quoted price covers the driveway slab, its hand detailed edges, the garage apron and the connected front walkway, measured in square feet before the crew arrives. Thrare Contracting prices from square footage, surface type and condition, and gives the number by phone the same day.
Wash water from a driveway cleaning stays on the property. A storm drain in a Dunwoody street is not connected to a treatment plant; a storm drain discharges untreated to a local creek, and the rule governing what may enter it is federal.
EPA states that "The NPDES stormwater program regulates some stormwater discharges from three potential sources: municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), construction activities, and industrial activities" (EPA, NPDES Stormwater Program, page last updated May 4, 2026, read 2026-08-31). A driveway that sheds its rinse water to the curb sends that water into the first of those three categories.
The federal rule then defines what may not enter that system. Under 40 CFR 122.26(b)(2), an illicit discharge is "any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of storm water except discharges pursuant to a NPDES permit (other than the NPDES permit for discharges from the municipal separate storm sewer) and discharges resulting from fire fighting activities" (read 2026-08-31).
Driveway wash water is not composed entirely of storm water: driveway wash water carries sediment, oil and grease, detergent and whatever chemistry was applied to the slab. Sending it into a storm inlet therefore puts it inside that definition, and no homeowner holds an NPDES permit for a residential driveway.
Enforcement is delegated downward, which is why a city inspector rather than a federal one is who a homeowner meets. Under 40 CFR 122.26(d)(2)(iv)(B), an MS4 permit application must describe "a program, including a schedule, to detect and remove (or require the discharger to the municipal separate storm sewer to obtain a separate NPDES permit for) illicit discharges and improper disposal into the storm sewer" (read 2026-08-31). In Georgia, the NPDES stormwater program is administered by the Environmental Protection Division's Watershed Protection Branch (Georgia EPD, Stormwater, read 2026-08-31).
The compliance path on a residential driveway is containment: dam the low end, keep the rinse water on the property, and release it across a vegetated area where the soil filters it. No discharge to the storm sewer means the permit question never opens, and Thrare Contracting sets containment on every Dunwoody driveway before the first pre-treatment is sprayed, including on driveways that slope straight to the curb.
Five things, and all five take a few minutes on the morning of the visit.
Thrare Contracting operates as Rare Earth Ltd, is registered in SAM.gov under UEI Z4WKS4UE8NJ6 and CAGE 9JAV8, and holds GUCP DBE and MBE certification.
Thrare Contracting covers the city of Dunwoody and the adjoining DeKalb County residential areas from an office at 8735 Dunwoody Pl, Ste R, Atlanta, GA 30350.
Dunwoody homeowners regularly pair a driveway cleaning with house washing, roof cleaning, or patio and sidewalk cleaning on the same visit, which saves a second setup. See also Atlanta driveway cleaning and all Dunwoody exterior cleaning services.
A two car Dunwoody driveway takes about one to two hours from setup to walkthrough. A circular drive or a motor court runs longer, and heavy rust or oil work adds time because those products need their own dwell period.
Pressure washing damages stamped concrete and pavers when the pressure is too high, the nozzle too narrow, or the wand held too close. CMHA's cleaning standard PAV-TEC-005-22 puts high pressure paver cleaning between 1,000 and 4,000 psi and calls for a wide spray at a low angle of attack so joint sand is not washed out. Thrare Contracting cleans stamped concrete at reduced pressure, because the color hardener and the sealer live in the top few millimeters.
Red clay staining comes out with an oxalic acid based rust treatment, because the orange color is oxidized iron rather than dirt sitting on the surface. Fresh motor oil comes out with hot water and a degreaser, while oil that soaked in over several years lightens substantially and rarely disappears completely.
Driveway wash water sent into a storm drain falls within the federal definition of an illicit discharge. 40 CFR 122.26(b)(2) defines an illicit discharge as any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of storm water, with narrow exceptions for permitted discharges and fire fighting. Driveway wash water carries sediment, oil and grease and detergent, so the practical answer on a residential job is containment.
A homeowner does not need to stay for the whole visit, but Thrare Contracting asks for someone present at the start for the walkthrough and at the end for the final look. The opening walkthrough is where existing cracks and any area that will not fully recover get named, and that conversation is harder to have afterwards from photographs.
Thrare Contracting schedules shaded Dunwoody driveways on a 12 to 24 month cycle and open, sunny driveways less frequently. The trigger is visible regrowth rather than the calendar: a driveway under heavy oak and pine canopy darkens sooner than one in direct afternoon sun.
Tell us the driveway size and surface type. Most estimates are given the same day by phone.