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. They are easy to spot because that's all they bring, a pressure washing machine. The real problem here is that water by itself does nothing to kill or 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 acidic tree stains from your driveway and sidewalks. And it certainly won't remove stains from reclaimed water and mud dauber nests from your walls or even the carbon fallout from automobiles or airline fly overs.
You will need a professional grade housewash with chelating agents because 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 homes in our humid and mold prone Florida climate. And even though I've been using it for almost 20 years, my customers are still amazed by it today! Your gutters, soffits, window frames and pool cages will be as white as possible, your windows look like they were buffed out and your paint and concrete areas will 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, your chances are almost like the lottery 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 to do this on their own, after a while, they try to get away with doing as little as possible and begin to "forget" the details that make us stand out to our customers. If it were easy, everyone would be doing this. Apparently its not that easy, so I make this journey alone. On the plus side, that's the only way I can guarantee the absolute best possible results for my customers.
Finding a Reputable Pressure Cleaning Contractor
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. While there's no guarantee, experience "usually" reduces the possibility of damage and increases the quality of the work without high pressure. This is hot, hard work so not many will stay in this business long. It should be a warning to you if you see them sitting on the side of the road with signs advertising their service. Once I started pressure cleaning, the phone began ringing off the hook and I no longer had time for other home improvement jobs that I also enjoyed.
What kind of cleaning agents do they use? Ask them point blank if they will be using a degreaser on your home. If so, kindly thank them for their time and move on to the next cleaning contractor. Degreasers are too harsh for homes and will dull and streak your home's surfaces and will even etch your windows and glass doors. Degreasers also react to metals like the aluminum around your windows and will break down rubber seals around your windows and doors 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 on your home. They should be used for cleaning parts, grease spots on driveways and commercial drive-thru's, not your home. In fact, I find that most pressure washing contractors still use it anyway because it "foams" up to impress the customer and is cheaper and easier to find than a professional grade housewash. But what they won't tell you is that it will cause instantaneous oxidation on house paints, especially when Florida's hot sun is beating down on your painted walls.
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 time to figure out. Once, I suggested scrubbing out some of those spots to one cleaning contractor and he just thought that was so funny. He said "I don't need no brushes man, that's why I have a pressure washer!" So, not many in this business are willing to take their cleaning to the next level.
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. Sure, it costs money for specialty brushes and house cleaning agents to break up and "release" webs, bee's nests and stains, which I find that MOST pressure cleaning contractors simply refuse to buy. But 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. That is what I'm talking about when I mention experience. But more importantly, going around and brushing down the home prior to cleaning allows me to inspect each and every surface for peeling or cracked paint, wood rot that has been painted over, leaky windows and doors and loose screens before I use pressure cleaning. You'd be surprised at how much damage you can avoid when you pre-inspect a home. As a home owner you should always inspect your home before and after. Take pictures of areas you think they might damage before they get there and after they leave.
Does he use low pressure or "softwashing" techniques to clean your home? Most pressure washing contractors use high pressure and simply move their wand further away from the surface to lower their pressure. If they do this, they cannot possibly clean your home 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" along with cleaning agents designed for those areas. Often they use the high pressure as an excuse to 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. My low pressure cleaning methods have been approved by thousands of repeat customers in the past 20 years.
Why you should NOT 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. even diluted. 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 where contractors 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 local 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. 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. *Unfortunately, I do not "paint-prep" homes anymore because the most professional painters prefer to do this for themselves so that they feel comfortable guranteeing their 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 using straight bleach can fade your house paint and streak glass as fast as degreaser. Straight bleach has enough surface tension to make it "bead up" on 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 because of the hot weather, 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 begins to neutralize the "acidity" of 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 inorganic carbon based stains AND organic 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.
