Pressure Washing Services

Pressure washing services are regularly advertised as an effective way to clean homes, businesses, boats, vehicles, and more. These services are a way to save time and effort on difficult cleaning tasks, but are they worth the cost? What do you get when you pay for a pressure washing service? And is pressure washing the same as power washing? Let’s answer all of these questions and more.

How Does A Pressure Washer Work?

A pressure washer takes in a steady stream of water and uses a high-speed pump to convert the water from low pressure to up to as much as 3,100 PSi. Some pressure washers rely on a fuel-powered pump, while others use an electric pump to pressurize the water within. Once the water is pressurized, it can be blasted out through the hose and the specialized nozzle to create a specific cleaning pattern. 

What Is A Pressure Washer Used For?

A pressure washer is used to clean dirt, grease, paint stains, and other grime that is difficult to remove by other means. The high-powered water jet that’s released from a pressure washer effectively scours the surface of driveways, home exteriors, patios, bricks, metal sheeting, and more. 

What Is the Difference Between Power Washing and Pressure Washing?

It’s important to understand the difference between power washing and pressure washing. Both power washing and pressure washing make use of a pressurized stream of water for cleaning applications. The one major difference is that power washers heat water to near-boiling temperatures before sending out a nearly steaming stream of water. Power Washers use cool water for cleaning instead. 

Which Is Better, Power Washing or Pressure Washing?

Now that you have an understanding of the differences between professional power washing services and pressure washing services, it’s time to consider which is the better service. 

Power washing is the fastest cleaning solution that effectively kills off weeds, removes stains, and handles adhesives very well. It’s also harsh on many surfaces and shouldn’t be used on vehicles, home exteriors, or anything other than hard concrete and other masonry surfaces. It’s important to note that power washers often utilize harsh chemicals as well for the ultimate cleaning power. Power washing can be harmful to many spaces because of these chemicals. 

Pressure washing is slower and gentler than power washing. It’s best for more sensitive surfaces but can also be used to clean driveways, concrete patios, and other hard surfaces as well. A pressure washer works more slowly than a power washer, making it a poor solution for long driveways and large commercial spaces that don’t require the gentler touch that a pressure washer provides. 

Power washing can be a great solution for certain scenarios, like a grimey concrete driveway. But often, a pressure washer is the safer alternative that you should utilize. For something like house siding, you should rely on a pressure washer for safer and more reliable results. 

Does Pressure Washing Damage House Paint?

Pressure washers effectively peel off old paint and leave behind clean surfaces ready for a new application of paint, so it’s natural to assume a pressure washer would damage your home’s new paint job. The truth is that you can safely clean the exterior of your home using a pressure washer without damaging your house paint. 

A professional pressure washer will utilize a 25 degrees nozzle or another less aggressive nozzle when cleaning surfaces like your home’s painted exterior to avoid doing damage to the surface. 

These specialized nozzles spread the water pattern out wide and reduce the pressure applied to the surface significantly. When cleaning with an appropriately configured pressure washer, professionals can clean the exterior of a home without doing any damage. 

An untrained amateur may damage surfaces while cleaning with a pressure washer, which is why only someone with sufficient training and experience should be allowed to clean your home. 

How Much Does it Cost to Pressure Wash Your Home?

Pressure washing services vary in their costs dramatically, but you should expect to spend somewhere between $0.25 and $0.50 per square foot of a home when having it washed down. That means a 900 sq ft house will cost between $225 and $450 to have pressure washed. A 2500 sq ft house will cost between $625 and $1250 to have pressure washed on average. Prices vary based on the provider you use and the condition of your home. 

What Is the Average Cost of Pressure Washers in 2023?

A pressure washing service is an effective tool for cleaning heavily stained and soiled surfaces around your home or business. Before hiring such a service, it’s important to know what costs to expect from these providers. 

Different providers have different prices, but a pressure washer generally charges a minimum of $0.20 per square foot and as much as $0.80 per square foot. The better providers charge more, and the average cost is somewhere between $0.40 and $0.50 per square foot. 

You should expect your costs to increase for heavily soiled concrete, driveways, masonry, or heavily soiled siding. If you haven’t had your home or business cleaned in many years, it’s going to cost more to have them treated than it would if you hired a company to come out twice a year. This is because there will be more built-up stains, grease, and grime to clean off. 

Pressure washers charge different prices in different parts of the country as well. 

How Much Do Pressure Washers Usually Charge By Location?

When hiring a professional pressure washer, the state and city you’re located in will influence the price you pay for the service. 

For instance, the answer to the question “how much do pressure washers charge in Texas?” is very different compared to the answer to the question “how much do pressure washers charge in California?”

Pressure washers charge significantly more in California than they do in Texas because the state has a higher cost of living, and most services are more expensive there. It’s important to note that pressure washers are likely to cost less outside of a major city in California, such as Las Angeles or Sacramento, because the cost of living is lower as you move away from the city. 

Does Power Washing Cost the Same as Pressure Washing?

Power washing and pressure washing are similar services, but professionals need more expensive equipment and improved skills to power wash effectively. For those reasons, it’s more expensive to hire a company to power wash your property than it is to hire a professional pressure washing service. 

Is Hiring a Pressure Washing Service Worth It?

Pressure washing is one of the most effective ways to clean the hard surfaces around your home or business. Paying for pressure washing services ensures that any harmful contaminants and debris are removed from your home before they can do damage. These services aren’t free, though, and you’re probably wondering if pressure washing service packages are worth their cost. 

The answer is that pressure washing is worth the money for most people. If you want your home to look cleaner, you should hire a pressure washer to do the work for you. Hiring one of these experts speeds up your progress and reduces your investment versus trying to do the work yourself. 

A professional pressure washing provider also understands how to use the appropriate nozzles and pressure levels while cleaning around your home. A professional won’t do damage to your home, while you could unintentionally damage your home without realizing you’re making a mistake. 

How Hiring a Professional Can Save You Money

It can be tempting to buy an affordable pressure washer and to try to clean around your home yourself as a way to save money. However, the expense of the equipment and the likelihood that you will make mistakes that could damage your property make this a less attractive option than hiring a professional. 

Professional Equipment is Costly

You may feel like you can save money by getting a low-cost pressure washer to clean your home with for the cost of one professional cleaning. The trouble with this math is that your home or business won’t be as clean as it would be when professionally cleaned. This is because that low-cost pressure washer doesn’t have the same power or capabilities as a pro-grade washer does. 

If you clean your property yourself, you’ll be left with stubborn stains and other issues that you can’t resolve with your equipment. 

It Takes Time to Learn To Use a Pressure Washer

Even if you could obtain a pressure washer for the price of one or two cleanings by a professional service, you’ll have to spend a lot of time practicing before you can achieve anything close to professional results. You’ll spend time learning about the different nozzles, wash patterns, what cleaning additives you should be using and how to configure your hose properly. 

Even after 100 hours of practice, you won’t be doing as well as the pros that do the work full time, and you’ll likely damage some of your property as you’re learning too. 

Experts Are Insured

If you damage your home or your vehicle while learning how to use your pressure washer, you have to pay for repairs. Those repairs are often much more costly than just hiring a professional would have been. 

If a pro comes to your home and damages your property, which is less likely, they are insured for that sort of thing. Their insurance will cover the damage, and you don’t have to worry about the costs involved. 

Professionals Save You Time

You must factor in the time you spend learning to use your pressure washer, as well as all the time you take cleaning your home, your car, or whatever else you want to clean off. All this time could have been spent doing something else instead. 

By hiring a professional pressure washer, you save yourself a significant amount of time. The service provider can get the work done far faster than you could, so you’ll pay for a fraction of the time and effort that you would have had to put in. If you value your time, it can be worth it to hire a professional, even if you don’t factor in the cost savings. 

How S&K Building Services Can Help

A professional pressure washing service enables you to get your home or business cleaned reliably. Locating a reliable company to pressure wash your property can be difficult, but S&K Building Services offers pressure washing services that deliver safe and reliable results. Get your home or business cleaner than ever before by calling S&K for help today.