1. algae everywhere

this balcony started with algae covering the floor and over railings & windows; it took a 3.5 hour deep clean under "the works" package that covered the floor, railings & glass, sliding door & tracks and windows within the balcony area.   

2. never cleaned before

this balcony floor was covered in dirt and grime that required the scrubber-vac to suck out a few buckets of water over the course of 1.75 hr to get it cleaned up for it's new owner 

3. bird poop

this balcony floor was covered all over with bird poop that required special health & safety equipment including N95 respirator and the appropriate cleaning solution to sterilize and rid the mess over 2.25hr (this was a favourable outcome, because if the poop had hardened rock solid, it would take 1-1.5 hr extra to penetrate and remove)

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4. black mold

this particular balcony was exposed heavily to black mold (patches on left and near drainage duct) sticking on after the initial scrub; black mold is very stubborn and simply won't come off even after hours of scrubbing or with high-pressure.    

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after about 3.5 hrs, the balcony was cleaned to a level the owner could not have accomplished on their own

5. floors with more than just surface grime

often the balcony floor looks just "just dirty" to a condo-owner, but time (sometimes years or never cleaning) results in layers of problems that may take 2x as long to clean the floors (layer 1: surface grime, layer 2: sludge, layer 3: black mold)

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6. paver stones

this particular balcony had pavers filled with algae on the surface and between the spacer gaps, which took a lot of care to clean it for it's new owners. 

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while paver stones usually sit on top of a balcony with a "drainage", a pressure washer can't be used (it's against strata by-law which forbids dirty water exiting the drainage out of concern that it may stain the facade of the building).  

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7. regular maintenance

this balcony developed algae again after a few rainy months, but it has been regularly maintained (vs years or never being cleaned), so the removal was more straightforward without having to deal with stains that may permananently set into the paint 

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8. floors damaged from neglect 

this balcony floor was clearly damaged from neglect over a long period of time;

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it's not just dirt, but the algae and mold (especially during the wet and cold season) ate into the paint membrane that's turned into a cracking soft paste

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unfortunately, it's too late, and this floor can't be cleaned; it would need to be resurfaced at a much higher price, when it was completely avoidable. 

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