Scrubbing Bubbles

Residential and Commercial Exterior Cleaning Systems

Well, for starters, pressure washing, pressure cleaning, power washing, power cleaning, whatever you choose to call it, is our specialty.   But keep in mind that pressure cleaning is only one part of the entire cleaning process.  The other required components would be a professional grade housewash (not the watered down cleaners you find in local stores), a high performance rust and stain remover and a gutter cleaner if you want the best possible results.  Anything less and you're just risking high pressure damage for mediocre results.  You see, a pressure washer can only clean so deep.  After that, high pressure begins to affect the surface.  And usually not in a good way.  That's why it's important to know more than just how to operate a pressure washing machine.   

Most pressure washer operators think that "high pressure" is all they need to clean.  That's what our ancestors thought when they used to beat their clothes clean with rocks down at the river before soaps or cleaning agents were invented.  The real problem here is that water does nothing to retard the regrowth of mold and mildew, eliminate stains or musty odors or clean and sanitize the damp, moldy surfaces around your home.  Using plain water won't brighten your white soffits or pool cage frames or remove fertilizer and tree stains from your driveway and sidewalks.  And it certainly won't remove the reclaimed water stains and mud dauber nests from your walls or even the carbon fallout from automobiles, airline fly overs, chimineas, firepits and grills. 

Without a professional grade housewash that contains chelating agents, some waters are so "hard" that you're pretty much guaranteed to have streaks on your windows after the cleaning.  You can't buy our housewash from Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware or even online.  Our housewash was specifically formulated and tested to clean Tampa Bay homes with our humid climate and mold prone environment in mind.  And even though I've been using it for almost 15 years, my customers are still amazed by it today!  Your whites are white and your windows look like they were buffed out and your paint and concrete areas look like new again. 

But isn't that what you expect when you pay your hard earned money to have your home's exterior cleaned? Unfortunately, unless you're lucky enough to get us, your chances are virtually zero that you will get this type of cleaning.  In fact, we don't know anyone that cleans a home the way we do.  Even when I've trained people, they still try and get away with doing as little as possible.  If it were easy, everyone would be doing this, but it's not. So, I work alone. That's the only way to guarantee the absolute best possible results for my customers.

So, What Should You Ask Potential Cleaning Contractors? 

When it comes to your home, don't be afraid to ask potential cleaning contractors hard questions such as: 

• How long have they been in business?   In this type of work, I have found that experience is a "huge" factor in getting a professional level cleaning.  Experience reduces the possibility of damage and increases the quality of the work which means that stains are removed without high pressure or harsh chemicals.
• What kind of cleaning agents do they use?  If they mention using degreaser on your home, kindly thank them for their time and move on to the next cleaning contractor.  Degreasers are either caustic or alkaline in nature and tend to dull and streak painted surfaces. Many degreasers will even etch glass if the sun dries it before it can be rinsed away. Degreasers also react to metals like the aluminum around your windows and deteriorate rubber seals around your home including the rubber (spline) that holds the screening to your windows and pool enclosure.  So avoid anyone using degreasers like Purple Power and Super Clean. They have their place, but not on your home.  In fact, I find that most pressure washing contractors simply don't care and still use it anyway because it is cheaper and easier to find than a professional grade housewash.   
  
• Ask him how he removes mud dauber nests and gutter stains. If they don't mention using brushes to scrub them out, then they're relying on water pressure to blast them away.  Sure, they might blast most of the mud and dirt away, but there is no way they will remove the stains in the paint using only pressure. I often get other contractors asking me how I do it, but unless they are working for me, I don't feel it is my job to share with them what took me months to figure out.  Once, I suggested scrubbing out some of those spots to one cleaning contractor and he just laughed and said "I don't need no brushes man, that's why I have a pressure washer!"  So, as you can see, this is the mentality you're dealing with in this business. 
• Does he remove insect debris such as webs, cocoons and bee's nests BEFORE he starts his pressure washing?  If not, then he's simply blowing this debris up into the crevices of your soffits, windows and entrances where they will become food for more mold and mildew.  It costs money for special brushes and housewash to break up and "release" webs, bee's nests and stains, which I find that MOST pressure cleaning contractors simply refuse to buy.  By brushing this debris away first, I don't have to use high pressure on your windows, doors and drywall ceilings.  *Yes, I can clean the ceiling of your front entrance and patio areas without damaging the drywall.
• Does he use different pressure settings for the different surfaces of your home?  If they say yes, then ask them how do they do that. They should be changing out nozzle tips.  If they are simply moving the wand further away from the surface, then they cannot possibly clean the area properly.  Trying to clean something from 2 or 3 feet away is simply not an effective method.  He should use low pressure for cleaning around your windows and doors, which will often require some "hand scrubbing" to truly get those areas clean without high pressure. If you hired 100 cleaning contractors, I'd be willing to bet money that only a handful would actually "scrub" them clean and even fewer would use the proper cleaning agents to protect your rubber seals and prevent your glass from streaks. This "extra" effort is rare.  While they may charge the same or even a lesser charge than I do, they are often there for less than half the time that I am.  And yes, I do talk to them, work with some of them and that's how they make twice the money that I do.  They get you with a little lower price, then rush through the job stating "that's the best it can be cleaned without causing damage with high pressure".  And they're right.  That's the best they can do. I've seen competitors across the street cleaning the same size home in 1/3 the time that I put in.  But then, maybe that's why I have almost 3000 repeat customers that swear by my work. 
  

Notice, I tell you NOT to use a degreaser. *If you read the labels of most degreasing agents, you will see they are NOT to be used on painted surfaces or glass, so never let anyone apply degreaser to your home's surfaces.  Anything designed to breakdown and remove driveway oil stains and clean auto parts should not be used on a home's exterior surfaces. Amazingly, there are even videos on the internet that recommend using a degreaser on your home.  The reason most of them use degreaser is because it is cheaper than housewash and can be found at any auto parts store.  It is cheaper because it does not contain the additives and components that make it safe and effective for cleaning home exteriors. Would you use laundry detergent to clean your face? Of course not. Always use the proper cleaners on the correct surfaces. Degreasers can strip the oils from your paint that affect its color and durability.  ONLY if you are "paint-prepping" your home, is it ok to use a degreaser, followed by a mildewcide treatment to eliminate any remaining mold.  I do not "paint-prep" homes.  Your painter should do this so that he can honor any warranty for his work.

Using straight chlorine is also not recommended, but I see people doing this all the time as well.  Apparently, they are unaware that bleach can "set" rust stains and just like a degreaser, using straight bleach can fade your house paint and streak glass.  Straight bleach has enough surface tension to make it "bead up" on top of moldy surfaces (like rain on a newly waxed car), which means bleach by itself does not do a good job of penetrating into pores and crevices to kill mold and mildew. And if it dries on your home or windows or they do not take the time to rinse it off thoroughly, they may as well be putting battery acid on your home.  We only use about 4% to 6% bleach in our housewash mixture for sanitizing purposes. Adding our professional grade housewash reduces the amount of bleach necessary to do the same size the job because they are designed to work together and boost the strength of each other.  Our housewash also neutralizes the "acidity" of the bleach making it safer to use around plants and animals.  This combination also eliminates surface tension to create a "wetting" effect so that our mixture can penetrate the surface more deeply for a more thorough cleaning.  And probably most important of all, this mixture can actually tackle both carbon based stains AND mold and mildew at the same time. Chlorine does nothing to clean away oil and carbon based stains.

Our method of home exterior cleaning is more similar to having your home cleaned and detailed than having it simply pressure cleaned.  

Many of our customers use words like "immaculate" and "meticulous" to describe our work quality. That's because our goal is to clean your home so well, that no one will be able to come behind us and clean your home any better even with higher pressure and stronger chemicals.  A regular cleaning scheduled every 12 to 24 months will eliminate the need for harsh cleanings and eventually clean away some of those deeper stains.

We use low pressure cleaning and rinsing techniques with 100% biodegradeable housewash and cleaning agents that are paint and landscape safe.

Operating in Tampa Bay since 1999, we clean everything from tile roofs to pool decks and pavers, landscaping stones, patios, screened enclosures, soffits, driveways, sidewalks, you name it, if it's outside, we can clean it. 

Tile and shingle roofs are treated with our "gentle as rain" chemical cleaning.  See our "Roof Cleaning" page for more information.  So, please take a moment and check out our testimonials or better yet, visit our picture gallery to see what we can do for you.   It's not hard to see why over 95% of our work comes from repeat customers and why we are often booked up a couple of weeks to 3 or 4 months in advance.   Many of our customers from last year have already reserved their appointment for this year and you should do the same if you want to lock in the same time for next year.

 

So call 813-298-2059 today to set up your appointment.

 

You still need MORE reasons to call?  Really?  Ok...

That's right, we want you, your friends, your neighbors and anyone else who comes to visit you, to be impressed with your home.  In many cases, visitors often think the home was just painted!  And usually after we clean a home, pool cage or deck in preparation for a party or family get-together, we will receive calls from their guests that now want their home, pool cage or deck cleaned.  

With Scrubbing Bubbles, you get exceptional work quality at the most reasonable prices.  You no longer have to "settle" for mediocrity because we consistently rate in the top 2% out of almost 300,000 companies on the largest and most trusted contractor referral service in the U.S.   We've won awards for exceptional service from them every year since 2006.   In fact, April of 2013, they sent me an email stating that I am now the "top-rated" home and roof cleaning company in the Tampa Bay area!  They also wanted to do an article on me and said this would provide great exposure for me and could produce a surge of new customers.  Unfortunately, I had to turn down my 15 minutes of fame because my current customers already have to wait too long for me to get to them.  As you can see, for me it is not about being the biggest or making the most money, its about taking care of my customers as they have taken care of me through the years.  We have over 100 customers that have been with us for over 10 years and over 700 of our customers have been with us for over 5 years, so we are not a fly-by-night, faceless corporation that looks for every way possible to nickel and dime you to death.  

Please keep in mind that this type of work is NOT an exact science.   If it's not the weather, then sometimes a job may take longer than normal or require more time and effort to clean everything up to our standards.  We don't leave a job until we know we've done our absolute best.  And THAT, you can depend on.  Of course, this can sometimes cause a scheduling conflict where we may have to shift someone from the afternoon to the late evening or next morning, but so far, we've had no problems as our customers understand that it could very well be THEIR home that needs that extra attention or time.  Rest assured that no matter what time we get there, we will always take care of our customers as though they are family.  Always have, always will.

 

This would be an excellent decision on your part as I would be leary of letting any "newbie" clean my home with a high pressure cleaning machine.  I've seen first-hand the damage that comes from inexperience; from blowing holes in ceilings to cutting through screens and scoring sidewalks and driveways.  All because the operator only knows how to "clean" with  high-pressure.  And as incredible as it sounds, there are even companies with the belief that "anyone" can do this as they hire anything and anyone with opposable thumbs.  Believe me, nothing could be further from the truth.  Now, I can tell you from my own experience, yes, you can "dummy-proof" commercial cleaning, after all, it's all flat work.  But when it comes to windows, paint, wood, glass, screening, etc., you definitely want someone who has been doing this a while.   

Here's a review I received (9/30/13) from Sarah R. in Tampa:

James arrived as promised to give me a quote on pressure cleaning my drive, pool deck,screen enclosure & the 20x20 wood deck out back.   He came, did the job & what a great job he did!!!!  I was so pleased. I've had several company's out here to do the very same job & have always had to clean up afterwards. Not with Scrubbing Bubbles! They were Fabulous! James is a super person & did what he said he'd do. I'll certainly be using them again.  

First, a BIG thank you to Sarah for taking the time to write down her experience so that others can know what to expect from us.  But more importantly, I want you to notice where she said that she's had "several" companies out to do the very same thing, yet she has always had to clean up afterwards.  THAT is where experience comes in, my friend.  I've had so many people tell me the same thing that I am left to believe that other companies either don't know how to do this or they just don't care.  High pressure cleaning can throw dirt up to two stories high and 40 to 50 feet out. Once that stuff dries on your walls or windows, it is like cement.  It takes less than a minute to walk around and rinse off your walls, glass and furniture during and after the cleaning, but you won't get that kind of service with companies that think anyone can do this.   

When it comes to cleaning the multiple surfaces on your home or business, experience cannot be handed over to someone during breakfast or explained to them during their morning coffee.   It can take weeks or even months to learn:  

• how to use the least amount of pressure in cleaning soffits, stucco, glass, screening, wood, cool deck surface or pavers
• the correct type of tip and proper size to use for each area
• the correct brushes for various surfaces
• which areas to clean first and why
• the right chemicals to use on which surfaces so stains aren't permanently "set" on your home's painted surfaces
• which cleaning agents to use on organic stains and which to use on carbon or petroleum based stains
• how to be efficient and minimize the amount of water used to achieve a thorough cleaning
• the importance of a thorough rinse to remove all soaps and mineral residues
• how to work around delicate flower beds, patio furniture, outdoor kitchens, playpens, etc. without making more of a mess for the homeowner on surrounding surfaces

 

 

So what should you do?

Call us at 813-298-2059, request a FREE estimate and join our growing list of happy, stress-free customers!

Until next time, thank you for stopping by and we look forward to hearing from you.