The barrier to entry in this trade is a trip to the hardware store, which means the gap between the best and worst operator in any town is enormous. Seven questions separate a professional pressure washing company from a person with a machine.
The questions, and the answers you want
1. How will you clean my siding? The only right answer involves soft washing. Anyone planning to put high pressure on vinyl or painted wood should not be allowed near it.
2. How will you clean my roof? Same test, higher stakes. Low-pressure chemical treatment is the manufacturer-endorsed method; pressure on shingles takes years off the roof.
3. Are you insured? Ask for the certificate, not the claim. Exterior cleaning involves ladders, water and other people’s property.
4. Is the quote flat or hourly? Flat, in writing, before work starts.
5. What do you do about my plants? The answer should include pre-wetting before solution goes on — that is the step that actually protects landscaping.
6. Who is actually doing the work? Owner-operated or a crew, either is fine — but you want to know who shows up.
7. What happens if I am not happy? A confident operator walks the job with you at the end and fixes anything that is not right before leaving.
Red flags that end the conversation
A quote given without seeing the property or photos of it. Pressure on roofs or siding presented as normal. No insurance, or vagueness about it. Door-to-door pressure tactics with a today-only price. Any answer to the plant question that amounts to ‘it is fine’.
None of these guarantee a bad job. All of them shift the odds in the wrong direction on work where the damage from a bad job exceeds the cost of a good one.
Ask us all seven. We enjoy the questions — they are the ones that make the cheap-and-fast operators uncomfortable. Read more about a professional pressure washing company →