Driveways, stairs, decks, patios, retaining walls and siding cleaned by an insured North Shore crew, and we check the Metro Vancouver water stage before we book you in.
West Vancouver sits on the shaded south face of the North Shore mountains, and that slope is the reason your driveway keeps turning green. Under Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1981–2010 Canadian Climate Normals, the North Vancouver Wharves station on the waterfront records 1,724.8 mm of precipitation a year across 181 days with measurable precipitation. Vancouver International Airport, a short drive south, records 1,189.0 mm. Climb the slope and it gets wetter still: the Sonora Drive station in North Vancouver normals out at 2,355.6 mm a year, close to double the airport.
Add mature Douglas fir and western red cedar canopy shading everything underneath it, and you have near-ideal conditions for moss, algae and black organic staining on concrete, exposed aggregate, pavers, natural stone and cedar. It is not dirt. It is living growth with roots in the surface, which is why a garden hose does nothing and why it returns faster every year you leave it.
The call we get most often in West Vancouver is not really about looks. It is about a driveway, a set of stairs or a pool deck that has quietly become slippery. On Ambleside and Dundarave lots that usually means flat concrete and aggregate. Up in the British Properties, Chartwell and Caulfeild it is long sloped driveways, stone walls and large cedar decks. Around Horseshoe Bay, Gleneagles and Eagle Harbour, salt air adds a film that holds onto grime.
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West Vancouver 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 West Vancouver 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, slope, drainage, 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.
We flush runoff away from planting beds, rinse the surrounding area, put furniture back and walk the job with you before we leave.
We are based at 345 Kelvin Grove Way in Lions Bay, minutes up the Sea to Sky from West Vancouver, so this is our home turf rather than a drive-in market.
Often yes. Metro Vancouver’s Drinking Water Conservation Plan 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 the aesthetic exemption is removed and only health, safety or paint-prep work is permitted. We confirm the stage in effect on your booking date and tell you exactly where your job sits.
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.
It depends far more on tree cover than on the calendar. A shaded, north-facing driveway under conifers can green up again within a year, while an open, sunny surface may hold for two or three. We would rather look at your property and tell you honestly than sell you a schedule you do not need.
Exterior cleaning in the West Vancouver 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, and steep driveways, tight truck access and long hose runs 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.
Yes. Long sloped driveways are routine here. The planning matters more than the equipment: we manage runoff so it does not sheet into planting beds or the neighbour below, and we work down the slope in sections.
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.
