How Do You Pressure Wash Like a Pro?

Jun 23, 2023

Most homeowners and some business owners want to know the pressure washing tips and tricks that enable professionals to achieve the deep clean they get in such a short period of time. The truth is that there aren’t any pressure-washing secrets that will give you the best results possible. Professionals get the results they do because of years of experience, industry-leading equipment, the right pressure-washing chemicals, and the perfect cleaning technique.

You won’t be able to match all those things yourself, but by learning some of these professional pressure washing tips, you can improve your results almost immediately.

How To Pressure Wash a House

Before you begin cleaning your home’s exterior with a pressure washer, there are pressure washer hacks and power washer dos and don’ts you should be aware of. For instance, you should never pressure wash fiber cement, or you could damage it and void your warranty. For softer materials like wood, vinyl, and stucco, you want a lower pressure of about 1,500 PSI and a wide nozzle of around 30 degrees. For tougher materials like unpainted steel, brick, and masonry, you can increase your pressure to up to 3,000 PSI and use nozzles between 15 and 25 degrees.

To effectively clean siding, apply a detergent with a mildewcide to the siding going from the ground up and scrub any heavily soiled areas using a siding brush. Clean narrow sections as wide as your water stream from about 10 feet away. Finish cleaning the siding by rinsing with a high-pressure stream from the top down to the bottom to remove any suds and rid your home of any remaining grime. Once you’ve rinsed a side of your home, you can spot-clean any remaining contaminants before moving on.

How to Pressure Wash a Driveway

The trick that power washing companies use to pressure wash a driveway is applying the proper treatments and using the best tools for the job. Any professional will have a gas-powered washer capable of more than 3,000 PSI of pressure. They will also use a surface cleaner to do the job efficiently.

Concrete Pre Treatment

To begin cleaning the concrete, professionals blend together water and a powerful sodium hypochlorite (bleach) mixture to spray over all the concrete surfaces. Let this cleaner sit for at least 15 minutes before cleaning with the pressure washer using a surface cleaner attachment. One of the best pressure washing tips for concrete is to use a surface cleaner that will give you a pulsing water stream, scrub brushes, and the perfect distance and angle during cleaning.

Concrete Post Treatment

Once the concrete is effectively treated, it’s cleaned using a surface cleaner, making careful overlapping passes that clear away all the grime. The finished surface is rinsed off using a mixture of water and a bleach neutralizer to help stop any reactions and protect the surrounding vegetation and surfaces.

How Do I Get the Best Results from Pressure Washing?

The biggest issue with pressure washing is the damage from power washing or pressure washing because of the intense stream of water. When applied improperly, you will harm your surfaces more than you clean them. That’s why the proper technique and nozzle tip must be used at all times.

To achieve the best results, learn when to use the right cleaning chemicals for your different cleaning tasks. Use sodium hypochlorite on most surfaces you clean to effectively handle mildew and other contaminants. Add in a surfactant, such as a laundry detergent, or a professional surfactant like Southeast Softwash Southern Drawl to trap dirt particles and get rid of massive amounts of grime efficiently.

Finally, you must wash using the proper nozzle tips and pressure levels. Adjust your pressure between 1,500 PSI and 3,500 PSI depending on the surface, and utilize nozzle tips between 15 degrees and 40 degrees depending on how hard the surface is that you’re washing.

Applying the proper combination of nozzle type, cleaning supplies, and pressure levels is essential for achieving a deep clean on every surface you wash. Most of our power washing safety tips are about the nozzle shape and pressure levels you use for your cleaning applications.

How to Speed Up Pressure Washing

Power washing companies understand that the best way to speed up pressure washing jobs is to pre-treat with the proper blend of chemicals and to wash using the appropriate pressure level and nozzle tip. Use an aggressive tip of about 15 degrees with a pressure level closer to 3500 PSI for brick and concrete, and spread less pressure out with a 25 degrees tip for wood, vinyl, and other softer surfaces for the fastest wide-area clean. When you pay for professional power washing services or work with professional pressure washing companies, they will use years of experience and the best equipment to achieve spectacular results in the shortest time possible.

Hire Professionals for the Cleanest Results

By applying these pressure washing tips, you can improve your cleaning results immediately. Knowing which chemicals, tools, and nozzle tips to use goes a long way toward giving you pro-level results, but you still won’t match what true professionals can achieve. For the deepest clean without damage, hire the pro cleaners at S&K Building Services. Our professionals use industrial-grade cleaners and industry-leading chemical treatments, and they apply them with perfect precision for a deep clean you won’t believe. Get a quote for professional pressure cleaning services today.

Contact Us

FAQs

How much should I charge to pressure wash a driveway?

You should charge between $200 and $400 to pressure wash an average-sized driveway. That’s a driveway of about 650 square feet. Most professionals use a rate of $0.20 to $0.80 for driveway pressure cleaning services.

How much should I charge a square foot for pressure washing?

You should charge between $0.20 and $1.00 per square foot for pressure washing services. Charge near the high end for roofing and other difficult surfaces and closer to the low end for home siding and driveways.

How much does it cost to pressure wash a house?

It costs an average of $250 to $750 to pressure wash a 1,500-square-foot house. A 2,500-square-foot house would cost $500 to $1500 on average. If you have an irregularly sized home, you can multiply by between $0.20 and $0.60 per square foot for a cost range estimate.

How much does it cost to pressure wash a driveway per square foot?

It costs approximately $0.20 to $0.80 to pressure wash a driveway per square foot. Only heavily soiled driveways will cost near the upper end of that price range normally.

How much does it cost to pressure wash a 2,500 sq ft house?

It costs between $500 and $1,500 to pressure wash a 2,500-square-foot house. This range varies depending on how dirty the home is, how tall it is, and what company you’re working with.

What are the risks of starting a pressure washing business?

When starting a pressure washing business, you risk investing in equipment that will break down and fail and cause harm to the properties you are working on. You must be careful to maintain your equipment properly and always have insurance before working on someone’s property.

What are the pros and cons of pressure washing?

Pressure washing offers a deep clean that can be achieved quickly. Pressure washing also has the potential to damage the surface being cleaned and can cause more harm than good when done by an amateur using the wrong equipment or technique.

How do you quote pressure washing?

To quote pressure washing, begin by measuring the length and width of the area to be cleaned and calculating a surface area in square feet. From there, you multiply your total area by an estimated pressure washing price per square foot to get the cleaning quote amount.