Hang in there! Spring is on its way. The birds are chirping. The grass is green and your starting to think that mess you’ve neglected all winter is due for some T.L.C. Trim the plants, update the patio furniture and put out some fresh mulch. But don’t forget to give everything a real good pressure washing and I mean everything. The windows, the siding, the brick, the garage, the porch, the patio, the sidewalk, the driveway, the grill, the patio furniture, the dog. Okay maybe not the dog.
If your like me your a regular do it yourselfer. For you the appeal of DIY might be the challenge or the thrill of learning something new. Maybe it’s just the love of being self sufficient. For me it’s a less noble ambition. I’m cheap. So it’s pretty simple, if you do it yourself it cost less. Right? In my experience that’s been true more times than not actually. Until I attempt structural engineering, for that I recommend consulting a professional.
Anyway, let’s DIY some pressure washing. So to pressure wash everything I listed above a professional would charge anywhere from $350 to $600. Depending on the size of your property. Those numbers are going to be pretty accurate because....well.... I’m a professional. You can rent equipment that will do the trick for around $200 and then some cleaning solutions for around $50. To buy the equipment your looking around $500. Now for your concrete, especially if it’s never been cleaned you probably need to use a surface cleaner. A surface cleaner can be rented for $50 or if you prefer to buy your looking at $200. So there’s the information that’s most important to me, the cost. Now let’s talk about how to not make a mess of things.
Rule #1
Don’t spray too close to the surface. That’s going to do some real damage that can be hard to correct.
Rule #2
Don’t let your cleaning solution dry on the surface. Most importantly glass, metal, and furniture. This is going to cause a real mess. Don’t let it happen.
Rule #3
Know your angles. This is about the technique to use when spraying. Angle your spray gun away from things like grass, mulch, and dirt to avoid all of that exploding everywhere in sight.
Here are some extras for you. Know where your water drains, this will save you time in the long run. The last pro tip I have for you is avoid a windy day. I don’t always get this luxury but I sure wish I did. There’s nothing more frustrating than pressure washing on a windy day. Keep in mind you could have problems with the equipment and that’s time consuming if you aren’t experienced with that sort of thing. Pressure washing isn’t easy but it can be fun.
Boom! There you have it. I’ll finish with saying that if you decide pressure washing isn’t the undertaking you wish to partake in I would love to be the professional to help you top off that spring cleaning. I wish you much success on all your DIY adventures!