House washing removes algae, mildew, pollen and general weathering from exterior walls using a low-pressure cleaning solution. On siding this is not a stylistic preference: high pressure forces water behind panels and into wall cavities, and that damage is invisible until it is expensive.
What house washing removes
Most of what makes a house look tired is biological rather than dirt. It responds to the right chemistry almost instantly and barely responds to force at all.
- Green algae, which colonises shaded and north-facing walls first
- Black mildew and mould, most commonly under eaves and around gutters
- Pollen, which in this region arrives in a heavy spring layer and holds moisture
- Spider webbing and wasp nests in soffit corners and around light fixtures
- Chalky oxidation on older vinyl, which lifts partially — badly oxidised vinyl has a limit
- Mud splash and lawn-treatment overspray along the lower courses
What is included in every wash
A house wash means the whole envelope, not just the walls you can see from the road. We cover siding on all elevations, soffits and fascia, the exterior face of the gutters, window exteriors and frames, shutters, downspouts and the entry door surround.
Landscaping is pre-wet before the first drop of solution goes on and rinsed again afterwards. Exterior outlets and fixtures get checked and avoided.
What is not included unless we discuss it: the roof, the gutters' interiors, and any hard surfaces underfoot. Those are separate services and we will quote them alongside if you want them on the same visit, which is always cheaper than a second trip.
Soft washing vs. pressure washing on siding
Soft washing applies a cleaning solution at roughly garden-hose pressure and lets it kill the organic growth before rinsing. Pressure washing relies on force to blast material away. On siding the second approach is actively harmful.
Vinyl siding is designed to shed water running down its face. It is not designed to resist water driven upward at several hundred PSI, which is exactly what happens when a wand is worked under the lap edges. Water gets into the wall cavity, and what it does there — rot, mould, insulation damage — you do not find out about for a year or more.
Painted wood has a different failure mode: pressure lifts the paint edge and the coating peels within a season. Brick and stucco can generally take more, but mortar joints and older stucco will erode under a concentrated stream.
What house washing costs
Pricing follows the square footage of wall surface, how many storeys, and how heavy the growth is. A single-storey ranch with light algae and a two-storey with a shaded, treelined north wall are very different jobs.
Access matters more than people expect. Steep grades, narrow side yards, dense foundation planting and second-storey elevations over a deck all add time.
Bundling is where the money is. If the driveway and the roof are on the same visit, you are paying for one mobilisation rather than three.
How often to wash a house here
Most homes in Southeast Missouri look right on a roughly annual cycle. Heavily shaded lots, houses backing onto woods, and anything with a persistent north-facing damp problem grow back faster and sometimes want twice-yearly attention.
Late spring is the natural slot — after pollen has finished falling, before summer heat. That is also when the calendar fills first, so booking early is worth something.
The case for staying on a cycle is not cosmetic. Algae holds moisture against your siding and paint, and moisture is the thing that shortens their life.