Frequently Asked Questions
Is pressure washing safe for my home? Yes - if performed by an experienced professional. You may never see another company clean your home the way we do. We haven't and we've been doing this for 11 years now. Our goal is to clean your home with the least amount of water and the lowest pressure possible. In fact, when cleaning the exterior walls of your home, we often use less than 500 psi. Around windows, doors and soffits, we use less than that. I have had heated debates with other cleaning contractors about this since most of them use high pressure on everything. Just another difference between me and my competition. I attribute our ability to clean with low pressure to our highly effective propietary housewash/mildewcide blend.
*Our cleaning agents will not affect your pool chemicals at all. Our cleaning agents do not contain any phosphates or chemicals to alter the chemical balance of your pool or affect your pool equipment, pumps, etc. in any way.
I have tried just about every housewash on the market in the last 11 years and we still use the same biodegradeable and environmentally safe cleaning agents that were introduced to me over a decade ago. This concoction is without a doubt, the most effective mixture I have ever used for releasing carbon pollution and grime while sanitizing and eliminating mold and mildew from your home's exterior. Yes, our solution does contain about 4% bleach, but it is absolutely necessary if you want your home to be truly clean and mold free.
Our housewash is formulated "specifically" to clean painted aluminum, concrete and wood as well as vinyl and aluminum siding without harming your paint the way that degreasers can. Never, never, never use a degreaser on your home's painted surfaces. (Unless you are going to paint-prep your home) Degreasers are designed to breakdown greases and oils and should only be used on driveways, patios, etc.
I am always amazed to see other cleaning contractors using products like "Purple Power" and similar degreasers to clean homes. Why am I amazed? Because if you read the label, it clearly states "not for use on painted surfaces"! While it is entirely possible they may be illiterate, it is more likely that they just don't know or worse, they don't care. Degreasers are designed to remove and strip oils from the surface to which they are applied - which is NOT what you want on your $4,000 paint job! There are many details like that are just as important.
On the other hand, you have many more cleaning contractors that don't use anything to help release dirt and grime and kill mold. Their only option is to use high pressure. THESE are the guys that I would not let work on my home. When you use high pressure, you are limited in the amount of time you can spend on a particular area. This means that even if the area isn't clean, you have to move on before damage occurs. The beauty of using low pressure cleaning is that it allows you to spend more time if needed to clean a spot or area without damage to the paint or surface.
Do I need to move plants or furniture from my patio?
No. If we are cleaning your patio, all plants and furniture are watered before and rinsed down during and after the cleaning. We will clean around your furniture, then move and clean underneath them before putting them back. So, every area is spotless. Sometimes, we won't put your rugs back because those areas need to dry out before being covered by a rug again. Rugs can trap and hold moisture on the surface of your deck or patio causing discoloration and paint or surface deterioration. If necessary, your patio furniture will be treated with a mildewcide and rinsed clean as well. Please check your estimate. If there is no price on your estimate sheet to clean your deck and you are only cleaning your pool cage, then your furniture and plants will NOT be moved and your deck will only get a light rinse to remove any debris that may fall from the pool cage cleaning.
*If we are painting or sealing your deck, then we will move everything out of your cage or patio area for you and then put it all back when we return to inspect the surface to make sure it is dry and ready for traffic and furniture.
Do I need to be home?
No, but vehicles should be removed if we are cleaning your driveway. Also, pool cage doors and gates should be open for us to have access to the areas you want cleaned.
How Do We Pay You?
If you are a first time customer, then we prefer to get paid on the same day that services are rendered. This can be accomplished by either leaving a check under your door mat or on a back patio table, etc. Sorry, we do not take credit cards.
Why do I need to clean my roof?
A dirty roof makes a home look older than it is, diminishes its curb appeal and can cut the lifespan of a 30-year warranted shingle roof in half. Those black streaks of mold on your shingle roof are actually digesting the organic tar base of your shingles. To mold, those tiny little granules are like giant boulders and as they eat away at the tar underbase, they begin to loosen the granules, which causes zinc and copper granule loss with each rain. (Ever look in your gutters or on the ground around the edge of your roof?) The loss of these granules accelerates mold and mildew growth even further, reducing your roof’s UV protection even more and prematurely aging your roof.
Weathering can be just as destructive to tile roofs too. Moisture expands and contracts at a different rate than the cement or terra cotta tile in which it is trapped and this is how they form hairline cracks. Mold then begins to grow in these cracks and when this process is repeated several times, more mold begins to grow in the hairline crack which then expands the crack until the tile finally breaks apart. So keeping them mold free is an important part of maintaining your tile roof.
Our cleaning method for shingle roofs is performed as recommended by most all shingle manufacturers that are members of ARMA (Asphalt Roofing Manufacturing Association). In order to minimize granule loss, we clean shingle roofs with a chemical mildewcide that is applied as gentle as rain. And when it comes to the chemical application process, we try to use the least amount of chemical necessary to minimize any impact to your property or our environment. But remember, the longer you wait, the more chemical that will be necessary to clean your roof.
Have more questions about roofs? See our Roof Cleaning page for more details.
Do you offer a warranty?
No. We clean "mildew proof" painted homes all the time with some of them costing over $15,000 in "lifetime" mold-proof paint. The homeowner usually calls me after he gets tired of throwing chlorine on his walls every few months which is what the manufacturer often recommends. Unbelieveable.
I was taught that warranties only serve one purpose in this business: to drain even more money from your customers. Let's use a roof cleaning job as an example of how this would work. Let's say that you choose a 5 year warranty for an extra $250. And let's say that out of 2000 customers, 500 of them choose this warranty. Out of 500 customers, how many do you really think will call this company on this warranty? How many will actually live in their home for another 5 years? And how many will actually notice that their roof needs cleaning before their warranty period is up? Or even remember that they have a warranty? Not many. In fact, I would be surprised if even 1% called them on it. But let's say that 10% call them on it and the average cost to re-clean a roof is $750. So now we have 500 customers paying $250 each for this warranty for a grand total of $125,000. Now subtract $37,500 (50 customers X $750 each to reclean their roofs) which leaves this "caring" company with a whopping $87,500!!! Yes, I could offer a warranty, but instead, we offer a NO COST - 2 year "no questions asked, unconditional" guarantee, that if you see any streaks come back within two years, you call us and we come back and take care of those streaks for free.
And when it comes to home exteriors, the fact of the matter is that your home's location and surroundings as well as its inhabitants and usage will dictate mold and mildew growth as well as dirt, grime and pollution buildup. Some homes will naturally become dirty or moldy in less than 12 months, while others seem to last 2 to 3 years before a cleaning is needed. Your best bet is to clean as soon as you see streaks or mold to eliminate any chance of permanent staining or deterioration of the paint itself.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes, we are licensed and fully insured as required by the state of Florida. That's right, REQUIRED by the state of Florida. We are insured up to 4 stories. Be cautious of those with little experience and no insurance as they are a serious liability to you. Of course, if you're only having your driveway and sidewalks cleaned you may not feel that this is a big deal. But when it comes to caring for your home, a cheap price means nothing if they are hurt or cause damage to your property.
You should also be cautious of hiring "part-timers" as they are often only doing this for "side money". With no reputation to worry about, the low price they often charge does not allow them the luxury of having insurance to protect you and your interests. Think about this: If they are too irresponsible or lazy to even become insured or licensed, what kind of work ethic do you REALLY think they are bringing to your home?
How are you different from other contractors?
There are some good contractors out there and then there are some that are just "ok". Generally, these "ok" guys put little to no effort into improving their service or quality either because they really don't care, they don't plan on doing this for very long or they will only do the very minimum amount of work to get by. I should know. I've hired and fired so many of them that I've given up.
Another group that you will encounter are "part-timers", whose livelihood is NOT dependent on your satisfaction. And because this business is not their main priority, YOU are not their top priority.
Which leads us to the next group of contractors that must constantly advertise to get new customers because the old ones just don't call them back. We are different. Our goal is to KEEP every customer that ever calls us so that we build our customer base. And it WORKS! With over 700 steady customers, I've been so busy that Thanksgiving and Christmas were the only days I've had off since March 2008! So PLEASE call and schedule EARLY! (Approximately 2-3 weeks)
Finally, we are not a "splash-n-dash" outfit. I have watched other cleaning contractors clean the same size home as I am cleaning across the street in half the time and they're only using water and high pressure! Basically, just a high pressure rinse. There are several steps in achieving a superior cleaning job before housewash or water is even applied. Experience, patience and determination to do the job better than anyone else is what gives our customers a first class job.
This is hard work and I know that I can't keep doing this forever, but I've talked with business coaches, owners, both retired and active about ways to expand my business and they all tell me if I want to get bigger, I'll have to "ease" up and realize that no one is going to be as good as I am. Even my brother brought this up by asking me if I thought if McDonald's had the best hamburgers. When I said no, he asked "And who do you think sells the most hamburgers?" Well, no disrespect to McDonald's, but I don't want to be just "ok". And yes, I know it sounds like an ego thing, but it has always been my nature to be the best at what I do. Besides, nothing makes my day like happy customers pointing out all the little things I did for them. When they are delighted, so am I. So, those have been my options: either, dummy-down and become mediocre so that I can start livin' large or stay small and have total control over my service and know inside that I'm doing the right thing. As I mentioned earlier, I had a mentor that taught me this business and I actually saw customers becoming emotional when he retired. So, I make it a point to really take care of my customers because I know that many of them truly need my help and can't do this themselves. So, there you have it and I'm sticking with my decision.
Why aren't you listed in the phone book?
I know some people think that a "real" business would be listed in the phone book, but at this point in time, I have more than enough work. I've been working 7 days a week just to keep up since 2007. This is why I don't have signs on my truck or trailer. If I were in the phone book, I would literally be overwhelmed to the point that I would probably just make even more people angry. (Many already get upset when they find out that they have to wait a week and sometimes up to four weeks before I can get to them.)
Trying to find people that take pride in their work and with a constant eye for perfection is difficult if not impossible. It seems that most people just want to show up with their hand out. And I have tried to find help that can do this kind of work, but as they become more experienced and advanced, the work often becomes harder and more dangerous so they usually don't last long. After all, who wouldn't want to work inside an air conditioned building answering phones or flipping burgers instead of climbing 3 or 4 story buildings in the heat of summer, inhaling atomized mold spores, getting covered with spiders and ants, stung by bees and chased by alligators and snakes? Yes, it takes a "special" kind of person that wants to do this. (LOL) So, until I find someone like myself, there is no point in advertising to the masses.
