What we clean, and exactly how we clean it.
Every surface on a house reacts differently to water, pressure and chemistry. So each service below has its own method, written down, and its own list of things we won't promise.
House soft wash
Vinyl, aluminum, fiber cement (Hardie board), stucco and painted wood. The green on the north side of your house is algae and mildew, and it comes off with chemistry, not force.
We apply a mix of water, sodium hypochlorite (SH) and surfactant through a downstream injector, at roughly garden-hose pressure. It sits for five to ten minutes, then we rinse from the top down with a wide fan tip. Nothing is aimed up under the laps, so water isn't driven behind your siding.
- MethodDownstream soft wash, top-down rinse
- Typical time2 to 3 hours for a two-story home
- Price guideFrom $189 for homes under 1,600 sq ft
- IncludedSoffits, fascia, front door, light fixtures, porch ceiling
Old aluminum siding: if it leaves white chalk on your hand, it's oxidized. Washing removes some of that chalk and can look patchy afterwards. We'll test a spot and tell you before we quote it.
Roof soft wash
Those black streaks are a living algae called gloeocapsa magma. It feeds on the limestone filler in asphalt shingles, and it spreads downhill every time it rains.
We never pressure wash a roof. High pressure strips the protective granules off the shingles and voids most manufacturers' warranties. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association recommends a low-pressure chemical wash for exactly this reason, and that is all we do.
Nobody walks a wet roof. The mix is applied from ladders and the eaves, plants underneath are soaked before and after, and downspouts are pulled away from beds where we can. The streaks are dead the same day; they keep fading for one to three weeks as rain rinses them off.
- MethodLow-pressure SH application, no rinse on the shingles
- Typical time2 to 4 hours
- Photo reportEvery slope photographed before we start
18-Month Black-Streak Roof Guarantee. If black streaks come back on any slope we treated within 18 months, we re-treat that slope at no charge. Moss growing under branches that touch the roof is excluded, and we'll point those spots out on the photo report.
Concrete & flatwork
Driveways, walks, patios, pool decks and porch steps. This is the one place we use real pressure: an 8 GPM machine at around 3,500 PSI, run through a 20-inch surface cleaner so the result is even, with no zebra stripes from a wand.
GPM matters more than PSI here. Flow is what carries the dirt away; pressure is just cutting force. A rig that only advertises PSI is usually a 2 GPM homeowner machine.
Afterwards we apply a post-treatment to the whole surface. That kills the spores left in the pores of the concrete, which is why ours stays clean for a season instead of going green again in six weeks.
- MethodSurface cleaner, edges by wand, post-treatment
- Pressure8 GPM / ~3,500 PSI, cold water
- Add-onsRust and irrigation stain removal, gum removal (hot water)
Hot water is "power washing." In the trade, power washing means heated water. We bring it for gum and grease on commercial walks. Most driveways don't need it.
Gutter cleaning & brightening
Cleaning is the inside: leaves and shingle grit out by hand and bagged, every downspout flushed, and any disconnected elbows reattached or photographed for you.
Brightening is the outside face. The grey vertical "tiger stripes" on white gutters are oxidation bonded to the aluminum, carried down by runoff from the roof. Washing alone won't move them. Brightening uses a dedicated gutter cleaner and a hand scrub, and it's quoted separately because it takes as long as the clean-out.
- Clean-outBy hand, bagged, downspouts flushed
- BrighteningOutside faces, hand-scrubbed, rinsed
- Best timingLate November, after the leaves are down
Window cleaning
Second-story glass is cleaned from the ground with a water-fed pole and pure water. The water is filtered down to zero dissolved solids, so it dries without spots and nobody leans a ladder against your siding.
Ground-floor windows get a traditional scrub and squeegee, then the frames and sills are wiped. Screens come off, get washed and go back on.
- Upper floorsWater-fed pole, purified water
- Ground floorScrub, squeegee, detail by hand
- IncludedScreens, sills, frames
- On requestInterior glass, tracks
Hard-water spots from sprinklers are etched into the glass, not sitting on it. Cleaning won't remove them. Restoration is a separate job, and we'll quote it if you want it.
What we don't do, or won't promise
- Oil, grease, paint and mud stains are not included in standard quotes unless you ask beforehand, and we can't guarantee complete removal.
- Cedar shake roofs and slate. They need a specialist. We'll give you a name.
- Failing paint. If paint is already flaking, any wash will lift more of it. We'll show you on the photo report and leave those areas alone unless you tell us otherwise.
- Organic-pigment colors. SH can react with some reds, blues, greens and oranges, especially older painted finishes. We test a hidden spot first and won't treat a surface that reacts.
- Etched glass and oxidized aluminum can be improved but not made new. We'll say so in writing before we start.
- Anything above three stories, and commercial fleet washing.
Get a written price today.
We reply within 30 minutes during business hours. If we're up a ladder, it might be 35.
(614) 555-0147