House washing and roof cleaning in Avoca Beach

How should homes between Avoca Lake and the surf be washed?

Farming came long before the houses. John Moore was promised 640 acres here in 1830 and planted vines, cereals and fruit trees opposite what is now Avoca Lake, and timber was later carted out by tram to a mill at Terrigal. Homes followed in the 20th century, and by the 2021 Census 86.7% of occupied dwellings were separate houses, with 55.0% holding four or more bedrooms. That means big roofs and long runs of wall, and a low-pressure house wash is made for render, brick, weatherboard and cladding alike.

Because the lake, the creek and the ocean all sit so close, where the dirty water goes matters as much as how clean the walls get. The NSW EPA says runoff from any washing must stay out of stormwater drains, since those drains flow untreated into creeks, lakes and the sea. Houses facing the beach also catch salt spray, and COLORBOND advises hosing the sheltered parts of steel homes, such as eave undersides and the tops of garage doors, more often than every six months near the coast.

Key figures

1830

640 acres promised to John Moore

86.7%

separate houses among occupied dwellings, 2021

55.0%

of homes with four or more bedrooms

Sources

• Wikipedia, Avoca Beach
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Avoca Beach
• NSW EPA, The drain is just for rain
• BlueScope TB-4, maintenance of exterior coated steel (January 2021)
• NSW Spatial Services, Administrative Boundaries (postcode, council, distance, neighbours)