Driveways, walkways, patios, decks and siding cleaned by an insured crew across Lulu Island and Sea Island, with runoff managed and the water stage checked before we book you in.
Richmond sits on the Fraser delta at an average of one metre above sea level, behind 49 km of dikes and 39 drainage pump stations that push rainwater back out to the river and the sea, a system the City designs to handle a 1:500 flood event. That is the single most useful fact about cleaning here: water does not run off Richmond, it gets pumped off.
The rain itself is not light. Under Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1981–2010 Canadian Climate Normals, the Richmond Nature Park station in the middle of Lulu Island, at 3 m elevation, records 1,262.4 mm of precipitation a year over 183.8 days with measurable precipitation. Vancouver International Airport, which sits on Sea Island inside Richmond’s own boundary, records 1,189.0 mm over 168.9 days. The middle of the city is wetter than the airport number people quote, and it is wet on more than half the days of the year.
On dead-flat ground a driveway does not develop the runoff streaks you see on a sloped North Shore lot. It greys and greens evenly, edge to edge, and low spots hold a film that never fully dries. Add salt-laden air off the Strait at Steveston, Terra Nova and Seafair and the grime on siding sets harder than it does inland. It also means runoff control is not optional: what we rinse off your driveway heads for a storm drain that ends at a pump station, so we keep it out of the planting beds and off the street.
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Richmond is supplied by the Greater Vancouver Water District, and outdoor water use here is governed by Metro Vancouver’s Drinking Water Conservation Plan. Stage 1 comes into effect automatically every year from 1 May to 15 October. From Stage 2 onward the plan restricts “washing impermeable surfaces”: driveways, walkways, decks, siding.
The detail worth knowing is the exemption. At Stage 2, washing impermeable surfaces is prohibited “except if for a health or safety reason, preparing a surface for painting or similar treatment, or aesthetic cleaning by a commercial cleaning operation.” A homeowner running their own pressure washer purely for appearance is offside at Stage 2; a commercial cleaning operation is not. At Stage 3 that aesthetic exemption disappears and only health-and-safety cleaning or surface preparation by a commercial operation is permitted. At Stage 4 it is prohibited except when ordered by a regulatory authority for a health or safety reason. The plan also notes its restrictions apply only to Greater Vancouver Water District drinking water, not to rain water, grey water or recycled water.
Metro Vancouver publishes the stage currently in force on its water restrictions page. As of August 2026, Stage 2 has applied region-wide since 16 July 2026. We check the stage before every Richmond booking and tell you plainly which category your job falls into, rather than quietly washing something we should not.
Get a free estimateDifferent surfaces need genuinely different pressure. Mixing them up is how driveways get striped and roofs get ruined.
We look at surface type, grade, where the water will actually go, water access and anything fragile nearby before a single trigger is pulled, then confirm the current water stage with you.
Roofs, painted siding and cedar get low pressure and a cleaning solution instead of force. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association is blunt about this: never use a pressure washer on an asphalt shingle roof, because it causes granule loss and likely premature failure of the roof system.
Concrete, aggregate, pavers and stone get a rotating surface cleaner rather than a hand wand, so you get an even finish with no zebra striping and no etched lines.
On flat ground we push the rinse deliberately rather than letting it pool, keep it out of planting beds and off the storm drain where we can, put furniture back and walk the job with you before we leave.
We are based at 345 Kelvin Grove Way in Lions Bay and run Richmond on the same schedule as the North Shore, Steveston through to Hamilton.
Usually yes. Richmond is supplied by the Greater Vancouver Water District, so Metro Vancouver’s Drinking Water Conservation Plan applies. It prohibits washing impermeable surfaces at Stage 2 “except if for a health or safety reason, preparing a surface for painting or similar treatment, or aesthetic cleaning by a commercial cleaning operation”, and we are a commercial cleaning operation. At Stage 3 only health, safety or paint-prep work is permitted. We confirm the stage in effect on your booking date.
Into the City’s drainage system, which is why we care about it. Richmond sits about a metre above sea level behind 49 km of dikes, and rainwater leaves the city through 39 drainage pump stations rather than running away downhill. We direct the rinse away from planting beds, avoid sending cleaning solution straight to a storm drain, and work in sections so nothing pools against the house.
Not the way we do it. Those surfaces get a low-pressure soft wash, not high pressure. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association warns that a pressure washer on asphalt shingles causes granule loss and likely premature failure of the roof system, so we do not use one there. Cedar and painted surfaces get the same gentle treatment.
Because there is almost no grade to move the water. On a sloped lot rain drains off in channels and you get streaking. On flat Lulu Island ground the moisture sits evenly across the slab, so the algae and moss colonise the whole surface at a similar rate. It also means the fix has to be an even, full-surface clean rather than spot work.
Exterior cleaning in the Richmond market is typically quoted by the work in front of it: square footage of hard surface, linear footage of siding, number of storeys, rather than by the hour. Large uninterrupted driveways, extra storeys and difficult access generally push a quote up. We will not put a number on your job from a web page. Call 236-984-0598 or send the address and we will give you a real, no-obligation figure.
RipTide Exterior Cleaning is fully insured and our WorkSafeBC coverage is in good standing, and we hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Your property and our crew are covered on every job.
Tell us the address and what you would like cleaned. We will confirm the current water stage, then send back a clear, no-obligation quote.
