Pressure Washing Myths - Truths Revealed
"Power Washing is easy, honey. We can do it ourselves!"
This may be true to a point, however, you can easily cause damage to yourself and your home if you’re not careful. Washing vinyl siding from the ground with standard homeowner equipment and at an upward angle can force water behind the siding causing water intrusion and future moisture induced problems. Getting up in the air and away from the house will allow the siding to be rinsed at a flatter angle. We never recommend to anyone to pressure wash from a ladder as this is quite dangerous and should be left to a properly insured professional. Safely and properly washing from the ground can only be done with the proper equipment. Further, even small consumer grade power washers put out an excessive amount of pressure to safely wash vinyl, asphalt shingles, and wood. Having the right equipment allows you to reduce the pressure output from the machine in order to minimize the chance of causing damage.
"I have High Pressure to get it clean – that’s all I need!"
Not true at all. Using high pressure is a mistake that is potentially very expensive! Only uninformed or low budget contractors that use substandard cleaners have to depend on high pressure to do the job. Using high pressure can do a considerable amount of damage to your home or property. Excessive pressure forces water behind the siding of your property causing mold and mildew problems. Wood is much more delicate than you might know, and using high pressure to wash a deck, log or wood siding can damage the components of wood, leaving unsightly marks and scars that will show through the sealer. Using too much pressure on asphalt shingles is a huge mistake. Shingles have small pieces of grit on them, similar to sand, called granules. Excessive pressure can blow these granules off the shingles, lessening the longevity of your roof. Make sure contractor grade cleaners and the right amount of "no pressure" are being used.
"But the chemicals are going to kill my plants or make my pets sick!"
An educated professional contractor will use only environmentally safe products that will not harm your pets. Plants are more sensitive and may need to be protected. If certain detergents are allowed to dry on the leaves of a plant it can cause brown spotting. Tarping plants with covers is an option, but that can even more damaging to the plants on hot days. The preferred alternative is to prewet the plants with water before, and periodically during, and finally after the cleaning process. As long as cleaners are not allowed to dry on the plants, there should be no damage. If stronger agents are required due to the nature of the cleaning, a quality pressure washing company will have measures in place to safely care for your property.
"Oh, your roof has those black streaks – must be time to replace it!"
This is not necessarily the case. Ugly black stains or streaks on asphalt shingles is caused by a very resiliant type of algae called Gloeocapsa Magma. This type of algae thrives in the humid and warm climates of the Carolinas and usually appears first on the North slope of the roof where shade is prevalent and moisture will be more apt to accumulate. The algae feeds on the crushed limestone that is used in the composition of asphalt shingles. Rain then spreads the algae down the roof, causing black streaks. As the algae breaks down the shingles, the granules that protect the shingle are loosened and begin to fall off. This causes the roof to deteriorate and diminishes the roof's ability to reflect heat rays. If left untreated, the algae will reduce the life of your roof, diminish your home's curb appeal, and increase your home cooling cost. Fortunately, the culprit can be killed and removed to restore your roofs proper appearance. The right cleaners and low pressure or "softwashing" is a must, so that damage is not done to the roof.
"Well, this guy’s price is the lowest so we should hire him"
Maybe, but not always. Here are some points to consider:
- The price you see advertised may not be the price you pay. Many homeowners have learned that the low price they saw advertised lasted only until the contractor did the estimate. Then they were pressured into paying a lot more for a variety of add-ons .
- Some contractors market strategy is to get jobs by being the lowest bidder. The contractor will then cut corners in order to turn a profit.
- Due to low start up costs, many companies come and go. When first starting up, a lot of companies do not educate themselves, because power washing looks easy and profitable. So, they lack the right equipment, cleaners, insurance, knowledge, professionalism, and normally, will charge an extremely low price.
"You can just give me an estimate over the phone, can’t you?"
It would be very nice if this could work, but in reality, it doesn’t. Honest, reputable power washing companies very rarely give estimates for services by phone and there are legitimate reasons for this. Many companies charge by the square foot or linear foot, but there are so many variables that can change that price from one home to another. For example, different types of terrain or landscaping can affect the price because of accessibility challenges. All wood is not created equal – do you know what your deck is constructed of? Has it ever been sealed and if so, can you identify what is on it and for how long? Is water accessible at the job site? Maybe your house is not extremely dirty and could be done for less than a more neglected house that is the same size. Professional companies know there is more to the job than just the dollar figure associated with it. The good news is, once an evaluation is performed and the estimate is provided by a quality power washing contractor, you know that that's the price you will pay with no last minute surprises.