Why you should always hire the professionals!

   Often I hear from clients, friends and others "I love pressure washing tiktok videos! Theyre so satisfying.” Or, “We tried power washing our house. It was just easier to hire somebody.” 

  I thought I'd add my two cents in. Is it worth doing yourself? Should you hire a professional? I’ll do my best to answer this question,  coming from 3 years of experience and over 1,000 houses washed under my belt!

  From experience, I can safely say power washing your home seems like a fun weekend project! After all, the tiktoks are awesome and the summer is a great time to work outside. However, without the proper equipment, training and knowledge of what you're getting into, it’s better to hire a professional, and here’s why.

The cost 

 Most of us have a pressure washer laying around in the garage. (Hopefully one that still works!) To remove mold off a home, we recommend a pressure washer with a min. Of 3200 PSI at 2.3 GPM. Otherwise, you’ll certainly be outside all day cleaning one section with a power washer that’s not as strong. Problem is, these units can run $400+. 

At that rate, you’re paying close to what it costs us to come out and clean the whole exterior of the house. Our cleans also last longer, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

I get it, you can still KEEP the one you buy, but in my experience, a homeowner uses them when needed, which is every other year, and you run the risk of costly maintenance on a pump, hose leak etc by the time the unit reaches 3 years old.

 Your Time

 With the proper pressure washer and a plan in place, you can expect the whole home to  take you the weekend to fully clean. (we know clients who had been at it for more than a week before they gave up and called a company… yikes!) I hate to tell you, but that’s best case scenario! 

One thing to consider when deciding, is that we clean the entire home when you call us. Not just the siding, so what all does that include? Well, we clean all of your home’s vinyl siding, but we also clean your gutters, downspouts, soffits, trim metal, doors, and even your exterior windows and window sills.

Life of the Clean

   Unfortunately, one of the major downsides of power washing your house is the fact that it lasts usually a season before the mold starts to come back. Bring on the frustration! The reason is simple. When you power wash your house, the mold isn't being killed, It’s just being blasted.

 This is why we utilize the soft wash process. Soft washing is the use of detergent blends that are formulated to safely kill and clean mold where it forms. A softwash on a home typically will last you 2-4 years. If you have a lot of moisture and shade surrounding your home, the less time the clean willl last. (2 years max typically) However, if you have mostly sunlight, you're in luck, the clean will last 4 years on average. This is great news, because power washing your house every year would NOT be fun!

Power Washing can and WILL damage your home if not cautious

  Ever drive by a home and see the siding look splotchy? That’s because they pressure washed it. The long story short is that vinyl siding exposed to sunlight will become oxidized. 

  The oxidation isnt visible to the eye, but its a powder-like texture that creates a film over the siding, which slightly discolors the whole wall of siding, because the film of oxidation literally covers the entire wall! (Dont believe me? Rub your fingers on your siding and itll look like sidewalk chalk on your hands!) 

  Anyways, When the siding is power washed, the pressure will remove the oxidation where the wand hits the siding with harder pressure. The problem is, you cant evenly pressure wash the whole wall with maximum pressure to remove all the oxidation, which results in the splotchy look. Some oxidation was removed, and some wasn't. Splotchy results. 

   The softwash process kills and removes all algae, dirt and spider webs without removing the oxidation, resulting in a full, proper uniformed clean. 

  Conclusion

  My intent is not to just hit you with a bunch of negatives so you’ll call us. Believe me, if that’s how this article comes across, I get it, but know this.  I’ve had countless calls come in from people who’ve rented a power washer at home depot for the weekend, who started the project 2 weeks before calling us that have in pure frustration put off the job. Or in worse scenarios, they’ve bought a power washer and STILL don't want to do the job!

 Tiktok and social media as we all know can be deceiving, making the job seem satisfying and super awesome, but reality can be a pain. 

  With the right equipment, ill admit… it’s pretty awesome! But it’s a ton of work on yourself to do it with a typical pressure washer and a ladder. For the same cost as a typical power washer, we’ll get the job done for around the same cost, and you won’t have to worry about it for hopefully a few years. (again, 4 if you’re lucky!)

 
  I sincerely hope this helps. Thank you for taking the time to read the article. Call Us if you have any questions about doing the job yourself, or wanting to get our crew on your schedule.

We’re the Experts in:

 House Washing

 Driveway Cleaning

 Paver Cleaning

 Concrete and Paver Sealing

 Wood Deck and Fence Restoration

We serve the following areas:
 Bellbrook, Kettering, Beavercreek, Oakwood, Spring Valley, Centerville, Lebanon and South Lebanon, Yellow Springs, Fairborn, Springboro, Franklin, Waynesville, Miamisburg and many more!