Most professionals use the property’s water, provided it has adequate flow and supply. In the case of a home with limited, low pressure, or no supply, the contractor would bring water, but may charge more for the extra time to fill and haul the water. In the case of “water challenged” situations, PDX ProWash will gladly bring in our own water supply.
Using a pressure washer will unlikely impact your water bill. In fact, pressure washers use ~90% fewer gallons of water per minute than a standard garden hose, which is a positive if you pay for water by the gallon! Keep in mind that in Portland the majority of water bills are from sewage charges for rainfall, not homeowner usage.
It greatly depends on the condition of the house, the house size and surrounding terrain. It can take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours to pressure wash a home.
The average pressure washer uses only about 2 gallons of water per minute. This compares to a typical garden hose, which uses approximately 20 gallons per minute.
Ideally, driveways should be pressure washed at least once a year. Just like you have to dust and clean the inside of your home regularly, your driveway is no different!
Ideally, every one to two years. Without regular maintenance, mold, mildew, and debris will build up on the structure, potentially causing damage and reducing the lifetime of the siding. Plus, it just looks bad if you don’t clean it!
As a rule of thumb, vinyl siding should be power washed once a year. If the siding looks visibly clean and doesn’t have any mold or mildew, grime or debris buildup, then once every two years is usually adequate.
Unless there are specific type of stains (eg. grease), it is unlikely that water would need to be heated to effectively wash a house.
Houses should be power washed at least once a year any time between March and November. You will want to make sure this is taken care of before the freezing temperatures set in.
It’s typically perfectly OK to power wash vinyl siding if it’s done properly. Done incorrectly a power washer can damage vinyl siding by cracking it with the high-pressure stream of water. So it is important to determine the correct level of pressure and nozzle to use before beginning work. Our team at PDX ProWash is very experienced with all types of siding and will adjust the equipment and water pressure to match the conditions.
At PDX ProWash, we purify the water with a pole fed water system, passing it through a series of filters and resins and making use of natural processes like reverse osmosis and deionization. This results in cleaner windows and far less risk of streaks.
The belief that it’s pointless to clean windows in the rain is a myth. Based in the rainy Pacific Northwest, the professionals at PDX ProWash can attest to this through years of experience in this climate. Properly done, window cleaners can clean windows that will be largely unaffected by rain. Most of the dirt you see on windows from the rain is actually raindrops disrupting existing dirt and grime, so if anything cleaning them in the rain will almost make their cleanliness more apparent.
It depends on the window cleaning company, but most offer to clean screens as part of their service, sometimes with an additional charge. At PDX ProWash, screen cleaning is part of our price and we do not charge customers separately for this service.
As with many services, costs can widely vary between cleaning professionals. The per window cost for interior & exterior windows can range from $7 – $15, with an extra $2 – $3 per screen.
For the most part, a homeowner can generally get away with a thorough cleaning twice a year. If you want windows that look great all year round, two to four professional cleanings a year is optimal. This is particularly true in our backyard of the Pacific Northwest.
One real estate firm estimated a “return on investment” for window cleaning of 769% when the job is done the right way. Well-cleaned windows not only increase aesthetic value, but the life of the window glass can be prolonged.
Drying windows is a time consuming, laborious task. Often, manually drying does not yield an ideal result and can actually result in streaking and smearing. If windows have been properly cleaned and rinsed with clean water, they will look just as good (if not better) naturally dried.
At PDX ProWash, we purify the water with a pole fed water system, passing it through a series of filters and resins and making use of natural processes like reverse osmosis and deionization. When it comes to cleaning the inside of the window, nothing beats a professional window washer with an old fashioned squeegee!
Window professionals typically charge per window versus by the hour. The per window cost for interior & exterior windows can range from $7 – $15, with an extra $2 – $3 per screen.
Some window cleaners bid their jobs to NOT include window cleaning, screen washing and cleaning of the window sills, tracks and frames all in the total price. Beware the à la carte bid! Our window cleaning professionals at PDX ProWash incorporate all of these services in our total price.
It is generally recommended to remove the old stain before you restain, but this is not required in all cases.
If the power washing is correctly done, it will lessen the need for sanding. Proper water pressure and nozzle type are necessary to reduce the chances of splintering.
Properly power washing a deck is dependent on a variety of factors. As with any other kind of maintenance work, it’s important to have the right tools at hand. For example a “standard” water pressure and nozzle is not always appropriate for every deck. Our team at PDX ProWash will be sure to select a tip and pressure setting appropriate for the condition and type of wood.
After a deck has been pressure washed, the wood will retain moisture for a period of time and it is important to let the wood thoroughly dry. Typically, 48 hours is enough drying time before staining.
The cost of a house wash varies by square footage of the home, the number of stories, the condition of the siding and the terrain around the house. The price will typically range from $199 – $599. If you reach out to our team at PDX ProWash, we will do a full walk-through and explain the scope of needed work.
Whether your home is 1,500 or 20,000 square feet, our team at PDX ProWash will assess the condition of the siding, outdoor areas, and the terrain around the house. Typically, the price for a house wash will range between $199 – $599.
In some areas, homeowners may need to pressure wash every few months. While in most areas it is adequate to pressure wash the exterior thoroughly at least once every year, in the rainy/mossy Pacific Northwest, homeowners are usually advised to pressure wash twice a year. The professionals at PDX ProWash are experts at assessing your surfaces and will discuss your best options.
To keep a deck looking great and prolong the life of the wood, a deck should ideally be stained every two to three years.
Pressure washing a deck is a quick and efficient way to get it ready for painting or staining, but it isn’t always a necessary prerequisite.
The main difference between power washing and pressure washing is heat, although they are typically mentioned interchangeably. The water from a power washing machine uses heated water, whereas the water in a pressure washer is not heated.
Pressure washing is a quick way to remove a deck finish, but requires care so as not to damage the deck. Our experts at PDX ProWash will be able to determine the correct pressure (psi) and distance between the nozzle and surface.