Your house can and will get dirty and discolored over time. That is just a matter of fact. It is not necessarily a horrible thing that you need to worry about.
No, the discoloration and dirt will not really affect the integrity of your home, but it will definitely do nothing to improve the look of it.
Many people nowadays are power washing their homes or having it done for them.
Power washing is a fast and convenient way to get all of that grit off of the exterior walls of your home.
Now, what we are really here to talk about is how much it is going to cost you to get it done. Keep in mind that there are many factors which will dictate the final cost.
So, let’s talk about all of those factors and about how much, roughly, it will cost to power wash your whole house.
Fair warning, this is a very hard question to answer with precision because there are so many different factors involved, but we will do our best.
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Power Washing Vs Pressure Washing
One of the first things that you need to know about having a professional wash your home, is the difference between power washing and pressure washing.
Today, we are here to talk about power washing your home, not pressure washing, but it is still important to know the difference between them.
The main difference is that pressure washing uses extremely high-velocity water jets to remove dirt and grime from the affected area, whereas power washing has more to do with temperature.
That being said, pressure washing only uses high-pressure water jets, while power washing does also involve quite a high-velocity water jet, but also a hot temperature.
The PSI of power washing is usually a little lower than with pressure washing.
Power washing is often used on houses, especially ones with man-made or wooden siding, whereas pressure washing is more used for concrete, stone, and driveways.
The higher amount of pressure used for pressure washing can damage wood and man made sidings on exterior house walls, so if you have a wooden home or some kind of vinyl siding, you need to go with power washing, not pressure washing.
Usually, pressure washing is a little cheaper than power washing, with a large reason for that being that it costs a fair amount of heat up the water for power washing.
To give you a rough estimate, it should cost anywhere from $100 to $300 to pressure wash your house, and anywhere from $200 to $400 to power wash the exterior of your home.
Though you can save money in the long term by purchasing one of the best electric power washers.
Once again, you do need to keep in mind that there are a lot of factors involved here, including the size of your home, the amount of dirt, if you need to repaint and reseal the exterior walls, and if repairs need to be made.
Also, you do need to talk to a professional first, as hot high pressured water can crack windows, break siding, and get inside of seals, soaking the house.
So, always ask a professional first, but for a really heavy job, it may be the only thing that will get the exterior of your home clean.
How Long Will It Take To Power Wash Your Home?
This is a very subjective question, as indeed is this entire subject because there are many different factors involved.
Simply put, it should take a professional no more than 1 day, maybe even just half a day to totally power wash the outside of your home.
Of course, this does have to do with the size of your home. A small one may only take half a day, whereas a really large home may take more than a day.
Also, if you end up having to make repairs or replace siding or wood, or even just slap on a new coat of paint, it could take up to 2 days.
If the job is really serious, with a big home and a big paint job, it could take up to 3 days to complete, but that is the absolute maximum by far.
Who Is Power Washing Your Home?
Another big deciding factor in how much it will cost to have your home power washed by a professional is who the person is.
In other words, are you having some dude with a power washer and a truck do the job, or are you hiring a bonded, licensed, trained, experienced, and established business to do it.
You can rest assured, that if you hire somebody, you should hire a reputable person or company.
If you are going to hire just any guy with a power washer, you may as well rent or buy the washer and do the job yourself.
Depending on who it is, you could be paying anywhere from $0.15 (15 cents) per square foot of space all the way up to $1.10 per square foot of space being cleaned.
If you are already going to hire somebody to do this, you may as well go with a company or person that is a little more expensive.
Now, you don’t have to hire the most expensive guys in town, but your neighbor with a beat-up Toyota pickup truck and an old power washer is probably not your best choice.
Somebody that charges around 75 cents per square foot is likely to give you a good mixture of quality work and affordability.
Do You Need Repairs Or Painting?
One of the big things that needs to be accounted for when talking about power washing your home is if there are going to be any wood, siding, or painting jobs that need doing.
First of all, if you have any woodwork or siding that needs repairing, you will have to do that before you do any pressure washing.
You do not want weak, cracked, or broken wood or siding either breaking more or letting in water during the power washing.
To repair siding or woodwork in your home, you can expect to pay around 30 dollars per hour plus the cost of materials.
If you need a new paint job done, well that is something that you would do after the pressure washing has been completed.
Ideally, the pressure wash would strip off old paint and expose the under-layer, thus getting it ready for painting. To do so you may need to add one of the best sandblasting kits to your pressure washer.
If you need a new paint job, you can expect to pay anywhere from $20 to $35 per hour, plus the cost of materials, mainly paint and sealant.
Can I Do It Myself – What Are The Costs Of DIY?
You can, of course, do this yourself. First of all, just keep in mind what we said about any paint, woodwork, or siding that needs repairing.
Other than that, it is definitely possible to power wash your own home, but you will, of course, need your own power washer.
These tools can cost you anywhere from $150 to $1,000 and up.
Simply put, if you only need a power washer to clean your home every few months, or even just once per year, you are probably better off hiring somebody.
Just remember to factor in the cost of the power washer, water, electricity, and any other work that needs doing.
That being said, some places do let you rent power washers for anywhere from $40 to $100 per day, which is, of course, another good option to consider.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the reality is that it can cost as little as $150 to power wash your home if the power washing is all that is needed and your home is small.
On the other hand, if you need repair work or a new paint job, plus if your house is large, you can expect to spend anywhere from $300 to $1,000 and up.