How Much Should Pressure Washing Cost?

Should I Get a Quote for Pressure Washing Over the Phone?

We have a utility on the website for a customer of any kind (homeowner, commercial, construction, fleet, etc.) to request a quotation. I get the question all the time “what do you think that will cost?”. In truth, I have no idea. Yes, I am a professional in pressure washing and yes, I have quoted many jobs. However, experience has taught me no two jobs are exactly the same. Even if it is two houses of the same floor plan sitting side by side. There are variances. 

When I first started the business, given my background of 28 years in engineering and program management, I decided to come up with the big book of pressure wash services. I plotted and planned like Dr. Emmett Brown in “Back to the Future”. I had calculator buzzing and satellites linked overhead tapped into the server farm at NASA. Low and behold I created it – The Service Catalog. Now, if anybody called, I could just turn to the appropriate page (digitally of course) and select the right price and give the customer immediate costing and quality service. Boy was I naïve. It took exactly two jobs to destroy the logic in my precision engineered monstrosity and render it useless. I really began to wonder how guys (or gals) could offer pressure washing services for $159.

 So how does Sparkle Wash North Alabama Price Work? 

I have stated before that quoting is a mixture of witchcraft and calculus. I stand by that attribution. However, there are factors that we consider when we look at pricing a job. Some very quantitative, some qualitative, and some downright effusive. Think about these factors as you are thinking about requesting a quote:

• Actual Surface Area – This is one part of the quotation that is science based. We have a range of prices for washing surfaces based on the total square footage. For example, when we look at surface washing concrete our price ranges between $0.09 and $0.50 per square foot. Where in that range it falls varies due to a couple of things 1) How much concrete; and 2) How dirty. Very small concrete areas that are very dirty tend towards the higher end of the range. The same is true for building sides, whether it be apartments, homes, or industrial plants. The metrics are transferrable to buildings and the range is generally the same except buildings don’t tend towards the $0.09 range very much.
• Minimum Setup – Because we have a good bit of equipment that needs to be deployed for a job, we do set a minimum charge. Our minimum charge is $150 for your job. So, it pays to have more than an hour of work for us to make it economical for you. 
• How Dirty – This was one of the killer questions that complicated my big book of service pricing. We use engineered detergents in our washing very frequently. If something is really soiled or as yet unidentified by science, we might have to mix detergents “hot” or wash in multiple stages with multiple detergents. All of this affects the prices – essentially basic material costs. There are times when something is so dirty, we must apply hot water for both wash and rinse. Sparkle Wash North Alabama has this ability, but it does cost money to run the heaters. That must be accounted for. As you can expect, really dirty things cost more to clean.
• Material Type – Pressure washing a home with vinyl siding is simply not the same as washing a house with stucco or antique brick. A vinyl fence cleans more easily than a cedar fence. Metal buildings can sometimes be scoured of surface color is one is not careful. So understanding the surfaces involved and the process by which they need cleaned is a paramount consideration in costing. Sometimes slower is better and we price accordingly.
• Complicating Factors – Sometimes it is not the job that costs but the cleanup. I get asked all the time why gutter cleaning is so expensive. For Sparkle Wash North Alabama, it has more to do with cleanup than dressing like the fishermen from Gorton’s and blasting leaves from your gutters. That rain of gunk has to go somewhere. It usually lands on the driveway, windows, porches, patios, gazebos, or any other structure of pride. So, the “gutter cleaning” job turns into a job cleaning all those other surfaces. More time, more cost. We don’t really like to work on ladders either. So, working on a three- or four-story building requires us to rent lift equipment. It is kind of a fact of life for safety, but the cost must be considered in pricing a job. Another example is roof cleaning. We use a heavy-duty detergent to kill those moss, lichen, mildew invaders eating your roof. Since it kills organic material, it could have a bad effect on things like plants and grass. Therefore, we take extensive protective measures. We consider these things in pricing because we want you to be 100% satisfied with the results. 
• Interesting Work – Let’s face it, some work is really cool to do. We quote those jobs at a good price to get the work to have fun doing it. You might laugh but we quoted a job recently washing refuse trucks that were heavily soiled at a modest price just because we wanted to see how clean we could get them. It is fun and a bit cathartic to watch the grime roll away. If anyone wants us to wash the Saturn V or Space Shuttle at the US Space and Rocket Center – we are down for that!!
• Hungry – There are times of the year (particularly winter) where people tend to do less pressure washing. This could be a good time to get your job done as the pressure wash companies might be hungry (literally) and almost willing to work for a Burger King gift card. Seriously though, as spring spruce up season ramps up, the costs go up, as well as the demand and lead time. Consider scheduling your job late winter or even in January here in North Alabama. We have cold weather gear and are willing to work year-round.
• Service – The last factor may be one of the most important factors. Sparkle Wash North Alabama intends to be the best pressure washing company in the state and a partner in your project not just a contractor. Our promise is to make things right for you. That amounts to extra time in consideration of the plan or attack for your job. Sometimes less pressure is better, sometimes hotter water, sometime a revisit to your site. All these service items incur cost. But in the end, they are important to you the customer to know you can rest easy that you will be pleased with the results. Just try to get the $159 guys to come back!
• Discounts – Sparkle Wash North Alabama does offer some discounting and it is worth asking about. We hate people to take advantage of seniors, so we go the other way and offer a senior citizen discount. Additionally, we are a veteran owned company and will offer discounts to vets or disabled vets because of the respect we have for people who served. Ask about other discounts that might be available.

So, I apologize unreservedly for not simply giving you a quote over the phone. While there are formulae and it still comes down to labor and material cost, there is more to pricing. Consider if you want a partner or just a contractor. Someone who will do everything in their power to make you satisfied. These are some basic considerations when you think about what a pressure wash job should cost. I hope you now have a bit more insight into what true professionals look at versus the Earl Scheib pressure washers who do any job for one price. I know I dated myself with the Earl Schieb “Any car, any color” reference but you can look them up. We are not always the cheapest, but we are the best.