Thank you all so much for voting for me in the Troybilt FLEX competition! Â I WON and received my gift card this week. Â I’ll be upgrading and buying a new washer and dryer with it and will pass on my Craiglist set to someone who needs it, since they are still working fine. Â I appreciate you all taking the time to vote!
Working on the exterior of my house and yard has made me want to do more out there to spruce up my house. Â Pressure washing the driveway seemed to be one of the best things I could do to help that out. Â So, when Troybilt contacted me about working with them on their new Troybilt FLEX pressure washing machine, I was thrilled to accept the challenge.
It was an exciting day when a Troybilt rep dropped these beautiful machines off at my house for me enjoy and use for my project.
I shared my sidewalk creative art project with all of you and I’m happy to say that I came out ahead in the voting on that contest. Â Once I pressure washed the sidewalk, I realized just how dirty my driveway was and I was determined to continue the project and pressure wash my entire driveway. Â Not a stencil project, but just to get it clean! Â It is amazing how dirty a driveway can get and I would bet that this driveway hasn’t been touched since 1979 when my house was built.
You can see here just how dirty that sidewalk was and a pressure washer was the tool needed to get this place shaped up all the way down to the driveway.
With the sun shining through the trees, this is the best I could do on a Before shot, but you can definitely see the dirt on this driveway.
My driveway is not in great shape, it has cracked over the years, but it is still solid and not uneven, which is a good thing. Â I’ve seen some driveways that have shifted and fallen over the years and at least I don’t have that.
I got the FLEX machine going  and went to town pressure washing the top part of the driveway.  It took me 3 days of around 1 and 1/2 hours to 2 hours each day to finish it, but it was well worth the effort.  I did change out he nozzle the 2nd day, using the white nozzle which is the widest arc and that made a huge difference too. You want to cover as much territory as you can when you are pressure washing.  Little by little, I made progress down the driveway towards the street.  I didn’t use any cleaner on this project, but the concrete got pretty white just using the pressure washer.
Pressure washing isn’t for sissies, but then again I’ve never cared about getting dirty. Â It’s definitely a dirty job, but you can hose off when finished for the day. Â Rubber Crocs come in handy for this job. Â Luckily, I had several days of mid-70’s temps and sunshine for this project. Â I’m glad I got it done, because now my driveway is covered in thousands of leaves. Â And it’s been raining non-stop for days.
Once I was finished, it was so nice to stand back and look at the job I have completed with the FLEX machine. Well worth the effort, don’t you think? Â Yes, it’s cracked, but I look at it like a mosaic and it still works for me. Â My house will never be perfect, but it is loved.
Now the driveway matches the lighter portion of the sidewalk. I’m still enjoying my cobblestone sidewalk and will leave it like this for a long time.  When it starts to get really dirty, I’ll clean it all up fresh again.
My friends noticed too that I had done this chore and commented on it.
I’m so thrilled to get this one behind me for the Fall and enjoy a clean driveway now.
You’ll can see the new Southern Living plants in this shot too.
Big thanks to Troybilt for working with me on this project and helping to beautify my home. Â I really enjoy having this new FLEX machine with pressure washer and leaf blowing attachment. It will come in handy around my house for years to come.
The pressure washer did a fantastic job of getting the dirt off my driveway. Â The only negative to me in the FLEX machine is that it is a little hard to start. Â It has a pull cord to start it and it took quite a few pulls and strength to get it started and I’m not a weakling. Â So, for that reason, I think it would be hard for a female to handle this machine alone. Â It rolls well and comes apart very nicely, but the starting part could be easier, I think. Â I have other home gadgets that have pull cords that work on the first try, but this one did not do that for me. Â Just being honest here!
NOTE: Â This post is sponsored by Troybilt. Â All projects, opinions and ideas are my own!
Maybe you could use your contacts to find a concrete contractor that would be willing to give you a new driveway for free??
Mary, that probably won’t happen. I’m actually fine with my driveway. Even though it’s cracked, it’s not uneven and rough, so it still works fine.
Looks awesome!! Nothing wrong with a few cracks.
Looks great u did a good job !
You did a great job on the driveway! It is amazing what a difference a little cleaning makes! I was going to ask about how well your pressure washer starts. That definitely is an area that needs improvement! I have a Troy built pressure washer and it is terribly difficult to start, and, like you, I have several other pieces of equipment with pull cords and this one is the worst! It’s not just a woman thing, mine won’t start for my husband either!
Rhoda,
The driveway looks great. You go girl! It cracks me up to see you with muddy feet. Then when we see each other in church you are are dressed up and looking beautiful. Isn’t it great to have balance in your life? Your house and driveway look amazing. Such a blessing for you my friend.
Judy
Wow! What a huge difference! All this time I thought you had a black top driveway – not concrete. Your driveway looks AH-MAZING!!
I’ve had a Troy power washer for several years Once a year I do my decks. sidewalks and driveway. The feeling of accomplishment when done is amazing My husband thinks I am crazy but I love to power wash 🙂
Wait, what?? What sidewalk art contest?? What did you do to your sidewalk? What contest did you enter? What post did I miss?!?!
How many machines did you win?? Looks like four or so! So confused, LOL! Please point me to the post that explains how all this began! Not sure how I missed it in the first place but I did!
Hi, Kate, see that link that talks about the sidewalk art creation, it’s there in the post. I got the FLEX machine from Troybilt along with 2 attachments, the pressure washer & leaf blower. Troybilt held a contest with me and another blogger on the sidewalk art and I won! I did a pretty cobblestone pattern on my dirty sidewalk. Here it is again:
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/fancy-sidewalk-stenciling-competition/
Wow! SO cool!! I wondered how you had done it! I didn’t realize the dark parts were DIRTY parts, LOL! I worried it was chalk that would wash off! Looks fabulous and what a prize!
Wow, Rhoda – what a difference!! Totally amazing and I can’t believe how nice it looks, cracks and all!
Yeah, those pull cords are a killer for me — I just cannot get the hang of them and always have to call someone over to start these beasts for me.
The love you have for your home shines through in every post – it’s so lovely to see and makes me feel very guilty when I complain that things here aren’t perfect. Gotta take a page from your book and work on developing the “grateful” gene you seem to possess.
Take care!
Hey, Laura, you know girl, it’s all about perspective. Going through hard times will make you appreciate when things are good. And things are really good for me now, so it’s easy to be grateful!
That looks so nice I just did our driveway this past summer and my legs looked just like yours. Lol it is a dirty job but very much worth the effort . Yours looks so clean now I know your proud of it.
Definitely worthy of a WOW! Great job, friend! This motivates me just a little bit to get up and mop my floors! Thanks for keeping it real with us and showing us your “dirty” side! Love you! Vic
The driveway looks great, good job!
You can use a sealer to keep it looking clean.
Apply it with a paint roller. Takes a while to do it, but
will save work in the future.
We love our pressure washer also but it took forever to clean driveway and all around the pool. Last summer we got a new attachment. I don’t remember the name but it’s like a round disk. It works great. Takes much less time to clean.
I’m like Mo. I love to pressure wash. It’s just one of those things where you see an instant difference. I don’t see anything wrong with the cracks since it hasn’t shifted. I don’t know of anyone that has a concrete driveway that doesn’t have cracks unless it’s brand new. We all have cracks. Some are just bigger than others!!!
After renting a pressure washer too many times, I too decided to buy my own! Incredibly handy to be able to clean up at beginning and end of each season, and after big outdoor parties, AND after I’ve spilled paint on the driveway working on projects- ooops!
Yes- the pull cord could definitely be improved on–I get tired of searching for a man to start it for me. I did consider the electric washers for that very reason, but they don’t come with enough PSI.
Great job- your driveway looks FAB now! I love your comment, “My house will never be perfect, but it is loved.” It shows- all I see is the LOVE!
Catherine
Congrats on your win – it is well deserved. I was impressed with your creativity when I read the post. And your driveway looks awesome! Your legs…..not so much 🙂
Well, girl, I’m so glad you won that contest because I’m with Kate — I never saw a post about your sidewalk, either!! And I would have voted for you! The driveway looks fabulous – I love pressure washing, too, and how everything looks so pristine after!
Take it from a pro – you did a good job! Concrete is hard to pressure wash and it takes a lot longer than it seems like it should but you didn’t give up!
Dear Rhoda I am so happy for you that you won the competition! Yay and well done. Enjoy your lovely new washer and dryer. When we lived in America we bought a new pair on sale around Thanksgiving when they have all the Black Friday specials, so this has come at a perfect time for you to enjoy the sales.
The secret to starting a pressure washer is starting it first and then turning on water. almost impossible to start with water turned on first 🙂
Hi, Kana, the directions I have is NOT to start it without the water on first. Said it will burn up the motor if you don’t turn on the water.