Power Washing

Have ready

Move furniture, grills, and planters off the deck or patio, close and latch the windows, and cover or move anything electrical outdoors. Point out the outdoor outlets and any light fixtures so they can be covered. The technician checks three things first: whether the caulk and the joints are already failed, because pressure will find them, whether any deck boards are soft or punky, and what the surface actually is, since wood, composite, and concrete take very different pressure and tips. A soft board is identified before it gets hit.

• House-wash mix
• Low pressure on composite
• Plants rinsed
• Mildew treated

The visit

House washing is a chemical mix and low pressure, rinsed from the bottom up so the dirt does not streak. Composite decks get a cleaner and a wide tip. Concrete can take more pressure. Windows get a rinse, not a focused jet under the glazing bead.

Mildew on the north wall of a shore house does not leave with water alone. It needs a mix that kills it, a dwell time, and a rinse. Pressure alone paints the spores into a fan pattern you see when it dries.

Permit

Washing is cleaning, so no permit is issued and no inspection applies. The compliance issue is where the water goes. Some shore towns restrict what can reach a catch basin, which is why the mix is chosen to break down in the landscape and the runoff is managed rather than pushed into the street. Any repair the wash exposes, such as rotted siding or a soft board, is a separate scope that may need its own permit.

On the Shore

The shore is a mildew climate. Salt film holds moisture on the surface, humidity keeps siding and deck boards damp, and the north and shaded walls stay wet long enough for mildew to take hold. Water alone does not remove it, and pressure alone spreads it into a pattern that shows when the wall dries. A mix that kills the growth, plus dwell time and a rinse, cleans it. The bigger risk is driving water behind siding or under a glazing bead, so pressure stays low on the house.

When we leave

Before leaving, the technician checks that the surface is uniformly clean, that the mix has been rinsed off the siding, the glass, and the plants, and that no water was forced behind a joint. The homeowner gets a walkthrough on what the wash revealed, such as failed caulk or a soft board, because cleaning makes those visible rather than causing them. The care note is to let wood dry fully before staining or painting, which takes longer in a humid week than it does in dry weather.

Built with

The materials are a mildew-killing detergent mix, a low-pressure line with a wide fan tip for siding and composite, and a stiffer tip only for concrete. A pump-up or downstream injector applies the mix, and plastic sheeting protects plants and fixtures. A soft brush is used on heavy growth rather than more pressure. The cleaning product is chosen for the surface, because a mix for concrete is not the mix for a cedar deck or a painted house.