10 Misconceptions When It Comes To Discussing Pressure Washing
Pressure washing is a great way to clean many areas of your home. It can also be used to remove mold and mildew from siding, decks, and fences. However, there are a lot of misconceptions about pressure washing that you should be aware of. Here are ten things that people get wrong about pressure washing:
1.) Pressure washing will remove all stains
A pressure washer can clean away dirt, mildew, stains, and mold from most surfaces. Adding a little bit of bleach and soap to the water can truly make the surface appear spotless afterwards. However, it won’t do much for inorganic staining, such as oil and rust. To remove those types of stains, you’ll need to use a specialty chemical such as a rust remover or a heavy-duty caustic degreaser.
2.) You Can't Wash In The Rain
You may be surprised to learn that pressure washing can be done in the rain. With most surfaces, we use a dedicated low-pressure pump that is about the equivalent to a garden hose pressure wise. With the addition of soaps and detergents, this will greatly improve the cleaning quality of the project.
If not careful, the surrounding vegetation such as plants and shrubs can be damaged due to the use of chemicals. Because of this, we make sure to minimize that small chance by watering the plants before, during, and after the application. With rain, it not only basically does the work for us watering wise, but it also ensures there is a basically zero percent chance of any damage.
3.) Pressure Washing Will Damage Your Paint
There is a lot of misinformation in the power washing industry. The most common misconception is that power washing will damage your paint. While this may have been true years ago, today’s pressure washers are designed to be gentle on surfaces while still providing excellent cleaning results.
Many years ago the only way to clean a surface is to use and extremely high PSI and basically blast the dirt and algae off the siding or area of cleaning. Today, as mentioned above, every surface besides concrete is applied with low pressure. The soaps do the cleaning, not the pressure. This in turn makes the surface that is being applied much safer and gentler on the paint.
4.) Using Bleach Is a No No
In the hands of the wrong person or company, bleach can absolutely destroy a surface or property. By having trained technicians and taking the proper precautions, bleach can be an amazing cleaning agent.
Many times just trying to use a pressure washer alone will leave the siding, concrete, deck, fence, or patio still dirty after the cleaning. Most times when a property needs to be cleaned, it suffers from heavy mildew or algae and the only way to restore it to normal is by adding a little bleach to the mix.
If you ever stop and look at all the house wash bottles sold at Home Depot, Lowe’s and similar, you will notice the main ingredient in all of these is Sodium Hypochlorite, aka bleach. They’ve basically repackaged bleach in a bottle.
We only use top of the line equipment and one of the features is the ability to control the amount of water, soap, and bleach that the particular job calls for. When washing a house, most siding requires just a little bit to remove any organic matter. But when cleaning roofs or concrete, a much higher concentration is needed. It is comforting knowing that we can dial it into the exact percentage for each job, reducing the risk of damage.
5.) Can't Quote Without Seeing The Property
In the past, you couldn’t give an accurate quote without seeing the property and assessing how much work needed to be done. However, technology like satellite imaging, allows us to view the property just as if we were there. This saves a lot of time and makes the process go smoother.
Not only can this save us time, but it saves the homeowner time as well as you do not need to be present during the estimate. Also, you do not have to worry about a pushy salesman(not that we do that anyways)!
Saving us time and fuel ends up saving us money in the long run, which ends up being a more cost effective pricing point for the homeowner or commercial property as well. All of this ends up in the best possible pricing we can offer.
6.) Homeowners Must Be At Home
Another misconception is that the homeowners must be home during the day of service. Every aspect of our business is designed to make it as easy as possible for you, the customer. From the initial contact, to the estimate, to the day of service, and finally the billing, our goal is to make this the most pleasant company you have ever done business with.
Since this is exterior cleaning, you do not need to be home while the work is being performed. We just require access to a spigot and the windows to be closed. After the job is complete, we send an email, and you are able to pay online or mail us a check.
7.) Pressure Washing Is Too Dangerous
In the wrong hands, pressure washing can be a dangerous activity. Not only can it be risky, but extensive damage can occur to the property without being properly trained. We have some of the best training in the business. Employees are trained thoroughly in the classroom and the field before operating a pressure washer on anyone’s property.
8.) Pressure Washing Is Too Expensive
In the past, most power washing jobs were completed with high pressure. This would involve being up close to the siding and essentially going board by board. Washing a house would be incredibly time consuming and would usually involve extensive use of ladders. Sometimes a two-story house could take all day!
Now that most jobs are washed with low pressure, or “soft washing”, the chemicals do the work and not the pressure. With modern-day cutting-edge equipment, we are able to safely wash two- and three-story buildings all from the ground without busting a ladder out. This saves an incredible amount of time and labor, which also lowers the total cost tremendously.
For a more in-depth discussion on the cost of pressure washing, check out this previous blog article we wrote. It further breaks down the misconception that having your property pressure washed is too expensive.
9.) You Can Do Your Own Pressure Washing
Pressure washing your own house or business can be satisfying after the job is complete. The issue is most homeowner pressure washers are much less efficient than what a professional company has.
With our equipment, we can essentially cut the job time down by as much as 75%. We can get in and out in a fraction of the time and leave it essentially spotless when finished. Not only can we save you tons of time, but pressure washing is a dirty job.
We have it down to a science and can guarantee it is money well spent as opposed to dealing with the mess and time it takes to complete.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could damage your home and surrounding areas as well as yourself. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that over 1,000 people in the United States were injured by high-pressure water sprayers between 2017 and 2020. In addition, about one-third of those injuries required medical treatment.
10.) Pressure Washing Can Be Done On All Surfaces
The last misconception involves using a pressure washer on any surface. Pressure washers are used for a variety of purposes. They can be used to clean driveways, patios, decks, fences, siding, and other exterior surfaces. However, pressure washers cannot be used on all surfaces. If you do not know how to use your pressure washer correctly, you could end up damaging the surface that you are trying to clean.
We essentially “soft wash” roofs, houses, decks, and fences. We reserve using high pressure for concrete surfaces such as driveways and patios. Concrete can withstand the much higher psi.
Well, there you have it. Hopefully this article has addressed some common misconceptions people can have in regards to pressure washing.
If you are interested in pressure washing, then we encourage you to contact Vista Pro today! We specialize in pressure washing, low pressure house washing, and safe non damaging low pressure roof cleaning. Small or large, we can handle any job.