I had my driveway, walkway and curb pressure washed about 3 weeks ago and the guy I hired used a strong bleach solution that has killed my grass along the edges. It's my own fault for not specifying that he not use any chemicals that would cause permanent damage, but to be honest, I didn't think I would have to, he has a pressure washing company, and does driveways all the time so I would think not killing the grass would be one of the most basic parts of doing it right. He also had a ton of really good reviews, so I'm just really frustrated. It looks awful.

Pics are below. Is there anything I can do to help expedite the soil recovery? A fertilizer, compost, anything? We've had some good rain since then, and we water regularly.

I appreciate any replies.

Really? That's great news. The grass along the edges has been steadily dying over the last few weeks so I thought the damage was more severe.

Thanks.

The first 1-2 years that I power washed around my house, I used some cleanser(s). But, I abandoned that one year when the I became too annoyed with dragging the 1-gallon bottle alongside the power washer.

After abandoning the cleanser altogether, I decided that the cleaning action without the cleanser was indistinguishable from with the cleanser. So, I no longer use any cleanser at all, just straight water. Got to be better for the environment too. Though, I admit there may be circumstances (mold?) where some cleanser is helpful.

I'm looking forward to power washing in another month or so, while listening to music/podcasts. After my last power washer died, I waited until this highly-rated one reached a good sale price (got all the attachments too). It has an integrated cleanser reservoir but of course I don't intend to use it.



https://www.lowes.com/pd/Westinghouse-3400-PSI-2-6-GPM-Cold-Water-Gas-Pressure-Washer/5002187767


https://www.lowes.com/pd/Westinghouse-10-5-ft-4000-PSI-Plastic-Pressure-Washer-Extension-Wand/5015171637

You can make it look that way by edging it too aggressively. I wouldnt even worry about this.

jenn96 said:

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Really? That's great news. The grass along the edges has been steadily dying over the last few weeks so I thought the damage was more severe.

Thanks.

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I wouldn't call that damaged. I put down some Glyphosate that went into areas I didn't intend and killed the grass. It came back in like 7-8 weeks. What you have there will beat that by probably a month.

To give it a head start, mix up a batch of Jerry Baker's recipe, which includes beer, cola, ammonia (yeah, you read that right -- puts nitrogen in there), and some very mild soap -- I use baby shampoo. 1 beer, 2 C cola, a cup of ammonia, and about a quarter cup shampoo is my recollection. Fill the rest of the 2 gallon sprayer with water. If you only have a 1 gallon, cut it in half. Spray the edges heavily, then lightly on the yard. If you don't use it all, that's fine -- use the rest 5 days later.

It looks like you might have an undergrowth of thatch. If you do, this recipe will work well on that on the whole yard -- at least, it did on mine.

Sadly, the PW guy didn't know what he was doing. There was no reason to use bleach products. There are good PW chemicals out there and that's even if you need them.