Pre-Winter Exterior Audit — A 12-Point Northern Rivers Checklist
Spot the small problems now and you'll spend half the time, and a lot less money, sorting them in spring. That's the whole game.
Why this matters
Winter on the Northern Rivers isn't actually our wet season — that's summer, when February alone drops 170mm. What winter brings is three months of cool nights, weak sun, and humidity that doesn't burn off. Mould, algae, and moss don't retreat in those conditions. They settle in.
If your roof, render, or pavers head into June already showing colour, by August you've got double the surface area to clean and bacteria locked into the substrate. Catching it now means a hose and a soft-wash. Catching it in spring means a full restoration.
Run through these 12 checks. Tick what's fine, flag what isn't.
The 12-point checklist
01 / 04 · Roof
- Black streaks running down from the ridge or gable — that's Gloeocapsa magma, a cyanobacterium feeding on moisture and the calcium in your roof tiles. Those streaks are colonies that have already been growing for months.
- Green or grey moss spreading on the shaded south side — the side that gets the least direct sun in the southern hemisphere — even in patches the size of a coin.
- Leaf litter and bark sitting in roof valleys for more than a season. Wet litter holds moisture against tiles and feeds the bacteria above.
02 / 04 · Driveway & paths
- A green film that comes back within a week or two of every decent rain — algae has taken hold in the porous surface and won't shift with a hose alone.
- Concrete or pavers two shades darker than the same time last year. That's organic build-up, not staining.
- Tyre marks or oil patches that soak deeper after each downpour rather than fading.
03 / 04 · Pool surrounds & paved areas
- A green tinge creeping across pavers in shaded corners or under the pergola — same algae as the driveway, faster bloom because the pool keeps the area damp.
- Slippery patches near the pool edge — one fall is enough.
- Grease shadows around the BBQ from summer entertaining. Cooking fat oxidises into the substrate over winter and gets harder to remove every month.
04 / 04 · Walls & render
- Green or grey mould creeping up south-facing walls — the side the sun never properly dries. East-facing walls along the coast see it too where the sea breeze deposits salt and moisture daily.
- Chalky white efflorescence streaking down rendered walls — calcium leaching out of the masonry as moisture passes through. Not harmful structurally, but it spreads visibly through winter once it starts.
- Black mould lines on window frames or sills, especially the bedroom side where you actually have to look at it.
Where to draw the line: DIY vs Pro
Half the calls we get could've been avoided with a hose. The other half are jobs people tried first and made worse. Here's the rough split.
✓ DIY is fine for: ground-level, no chemicals
- Cobwebs and surface dust on render you can reach without a ladder.
- Light grime on a recently-cleaned driveway.
- Sweeping pavers and clearing leaf litter from corners and planter edges.
- Hosing the BBQ and outdoor furniture between uses.
→ Get a pro for: height, chemicals, or stains that won't shift
- Anything on the roof. Always.
- Black or grey staining that doesn't lift with a hose — that's bacterial colonies, not dirt. Pressure-washing strips the visible layer but doesn't kill the colony, and it's back inside six months.
- Render with cracks or mould — high-pressure water finds the gaps and drives water in. Soft-wash is the only safe approach.
- Stained or moss-covered pavers — pressure-washing without the right pre-treatment etches the surface and removes the cement matrix between joints.
- Any chemical work. Wrong ratios damage paint, kill plants, and the strip-and-redo costs more than the original clean.
Bottom line: if you can reach it from the ground with both feet planted and you're not using bleach, give DIY a crack. Otherwise, the cost of a pro is less than the cost of fixing what high-pressure can break.
Want this checked for you?
We don't compete on price. We compete on outcome — safe, thorough, built to last. On-site assessment, then a fixed quote. Every property gets walked before we quote a number, because that's the only way to give you a price that actually holds. No pressure to book, no upsell on the day.
How to book
Online: ecocleannorthernrivers.com/schedule — pick a 30-minute window.
Call or SMS: +61 489 271 982 — replies inside 15 minutes, Mon–Sat.
Email: [email protected] — best for photos and floor plans.
Coverage: Tweed Heads through to Evans Head, full Northern Rivers coastal corridor.
Standards: fully insured. Soft-wash trained. Equipped, accountable, safe for surfaces, plants, and pets. Built to last.
Run the checklist. If anything on it gave you pause, that's worth 10 minutes with us. Either way, your spring will thank you.
Book your pre-winter assessment →
— Kolt @ EcoClean
EcoClean Pro Solutions · ABN-registered · Cleaning Services Award 2020 compliant · Servicing the full Northern Rivers coastal corridor.
FAQs
Why audit before winter when winter isn't even our wet season?
Because winter on the Northern Rivers is the mould season, not the rain season. Cool nights, weak sun, and humidity that lingers create conditions where any moss, mould, or algae already on your home spreads instead of dries up. April–May is the last window before that growth cycle opens.
Can't I just pressure-wash everything myself?
Sometimes yes, often no. Pressure-washing is fine for ground-level driveways and BBQs. It's not fine for roofs, render with cracks, pavers with deep staining, or anything bacterial — high-pressure water finds the gaps in render, etches the surface of pavers, and doesn't kill the cyanobacteria that causes the streaking. The streaks come back in a few months because the colony is still alive.
Do you service all of the Northern Rivers?
Yes — Tweed Heads through to Evans Head, full coastal corridor. Includes Kingscliff, Cabarita Beach, Pottsville, Brunswick Heads, Byron Bay, Lennox Head, Ballina.
How does pricing work?
Always on-site assessment first, then a fixed quote — never a flat-rate guess over the phone. Walking the property is the only way to give a price that holds. Projects start from $600.
