How to Clean a Resin Bound Driveway

Resin bound surfaces are aggregate held in a clear resin matrix, laid as a permeable layer. That permeability is the point: water drains through rather than running off. It is also the weakness, because the open structure traps organic debris that then feeds algae, particularly on a shaded drive under trees.

The damage people do is mechanical. Hit resin with a narrow, high-pressure jet and you break the resin bond around individual stones. Once a few let go the surface starts shedding aggregate, and loose stone is not something you can wash back into place — it needs a repair.

Wide fan, moderate pressure, kept moving, is the whole technique. A surface cleaner at a sensible setting is safer than a lance because it cannot concentrate force in one spot. Very hot water is another thing to avoid; resin softens with heat, and a steam-temperature machine can leave the finish tacky or cloudy.

For green growth, a biocide treatment does the work chemically and you rinse afterwards, rather than trying to scour it out. That takes the pressure requirement right down, which is exactly what a resin surface wants.

Resin bonded is a different build — stone scattered onto a resin-coated base, not permeable — and is a little more robust underfoot, but the same rule holds: the resin is the thing you are protecting, so the gentlest method that works is the right one.