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High-pressure cleaning uses pressure water spray to eliminate mud, mold, grime, loose paint, dust, and dirt from surfaces, vehicles, and buildings.
There is a myriad of solutions, nozzles, psi, GPM, and techniques that pressure washing professionals to use to tackle different kinds of problems.
The exterior of your home may seem clean, but you may be surprised by how much dirt and mold has built up in certain areas of your property.
Roofs especially are very susceptible to moss and mold growth due to constant weather and humidity changes. Roof cleaning services can help maintain your roof and avoid expensive repairs.
There are many pressure washing service companies out there. Choosing the right services is vital to getting the best care for your property. Furthermore, the wrong vendor can damage your property. So here are 6 tips on how to pick an expert pressure washing service company that will provide great service.
1. Be Wary of Very Low Quotes
Why low quotes are something to be concerned about
Everyone has heard the saying that you get what you pay for. This can be especially true with pressure washing. Many people want to hire companies with the cheapest prices. This can backfire if the person you hire for your pressure washing needs doesn’t have the experience, insurance, and equipment needed for the job.
If you’re hiring someone to clean hard, unpainted brick, then it may be a simple job that a novice pressure washer can handle.
However, for roof shingles, vinyl siding, painted wood fencing, or any other more delicate materials, an experienced pressure washing professional like First Coast SoftWash will know how to handle the situation with finesse and avoid damaging your property.
Again, more established professionals will have more experience, equipment, insurance, marketing, and other overhead to cover. They will likely have very organized scheduling and billing systems.
Perhaps your job is simple and you do not need all the bells and whistles. Using a freelancing pressure washing beginner is not the end of the world, but you should be aware of your situation and hire according to your specific needs.
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Average Pressure Washing Prices
This is a bit misleading because there isn’t an average pressure washing price. Pressure washing varies greatly depending on the type of job, regional location, and even time of year.
However, most pressure washing companies will charge a certain amount per square footage with a minimum baseline for all jobs. The pricing will go up and down throughout the year based on weather and the marketplace.
You should note that the prices depend on the task. The cost to pressure washes a house is slightly above the least price as mentioned earlier. They vary according to size. This is a sample pricing list:
- Commercial
- Parking lot – $0.10/sq ft
- Sidewalks – $1/foot
- Roof – $0.50/sq ft
- Rust Removal – $4/sq ft; minimum $75
- Efflorescence Removal – $6 sq ft; minimum $200
- Homes
- Driveway – $0.20 cents/sq ft
- Vinyl – $0.15 cents/sq ft
- Brick – $0.16 cents/sq ft
- Stucco – $0.20 cents/sq ft
- Fence – $4.50/foot
- Roof – $0.30/sq ft
2. Quotes Should Happen in Person
Every job is different. If you need someone to clean your driveway in preparation for a birthday party at your house, that is a very different job than if you own a restaurant and need the parking lot cleaned every week.
Many contractors will visit your location before giving you a written estimate – which should be free. If the contractor provides a quote without visiting your location, ask them how they can quote without seeing the site.
Some contractors may use satellite imaging to estimate the quote to save time. Others may have serviced your area or similar build before, they already know their quote.
If a pressure washing company does not give you a satisfactory answer on why they can quote without seeing the property, they may not have the professionalism or due diligence that you are looking for.
3. Check Online Reviews
Online reviews star ratings should be taken with a grain of salt. Although online reviews can be very helpful in assisting you in making the right decision, the star rating itself can be misleading.
In some cases, a good pressure washing pro can get bad reviews from shady competitors or unreasonable clients. You should be able to tell by reading the reviews themselves. In other cases, a pressure washing company may have a 5-star rating, but all the ratings are from brand new accounts with only 1 review.
Sort the ratings by most recent, and take a look at the most recent reviews. You should be able to pick up clues on what this pressure washing company is and is not good at.
4. Check for Insurance
A pressure washing company needs to have insurance. If your property is damaged in any way by the pressure washer, then your property is covered. Do not overlook this. This is very important.
We have heard about issues where a pressure washing company fried an exterior circuit board to the home or they accidentally broke a rusty faucet.
These repairs can be very costly. If the pressure washing company or contractor does not have insurance, then they likely won’t be able to afford to repair your property. You can sue, but that will cost even more money and time.
Your best bet is to just make sure they have adequate insurance from the start. This circles back to being wary of contractors that provide excessively low quotes. Contractors that provide very low quotes may be cutting corners such as not having insurance, so look out for this.
Conclusion
So, to recap, here are the four things to look out for when hiring a pressure washing service:
- Be wary of very low quotes – they may be cutting corners such as insurance which is very important. However, some new pressure washing contractors may be up and coming and can still do a great job at a low price.
- Quotes should happen in person. If you’re asking for a quote on a home, many experienced pressure washing companies may already know their price from doing hundreds of similarly sized homes. However, the company or contractor should be able to explain how they can quote without seeing your property in person.
- Check online reviews – but take the star ratings themselves with a grain of salt. Read some of the most recent reviews to see the quality of work and service that the pressure washing company provides.
- Check for insurance. If the pressure washing pro does not have insurance, this should be a dealbreaker for you. The financial liability of saving a few bucks is just simply not worth it.
