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Is there a difference between washing a house yourself vs. hiring a professional?
Everything a professional does nowadays is on YouTube. You can search for how to wash a house and go at it yourself.
Buy those pieces of equipment. Buy that biodegradable solution that they use. Buy the plant & property protection that they use. Now invest the time to learn how to use the equipment and wash your house. You can even wash your neighbor’s house and so on.
If you spend that amount of time obsessing about washing a house, you should start a business. The thing is most people aren’t that passionate about washing a house to go that deep. it’s a lot of time and dedication.
If you can understand how to wash a house and use the right equipment, you do anything yourself as well as the pros!
The thing is what benefits will you get out of both scenarios? That’s the more important question.
Our hope is to help you make the right informed decision.
Let’s go over the benefits of DIY house washing.
DIY Benefits For House Washing
There are very talented people who do an incredible job by themselves. This may be the route you want to take as you can get the same results as a company that has all the fancy equipment.
Benefit 1: Saving Money By Doing It Yourself
One obvious benefit of washing your own house is not having to go spend money on a service provider.
You can rent a pressure washer or build your own soft washing equipment and get the house done yourself.
If you do, make sure to know the safety precautions you need to take before washing your house.
Here are the items you’ll need to buy to do a proper plant and property protection protocol.
Here’s a quick list of the key areas of the house you want to protect:
- Protect yourself at all costs. Wear long sleeves, a gas mask, and gloves, and have all PPE gears on before starting.
- Cover all electrical outlets with plastic and tape this includes:
- Outdoor electrical outlets
- Doorbells
- Light fixtures (You don’t have to for most outdoor lighting, but it’s an added safety step)
- An electrical box that powers up the whole house
- Tape and plastic off all ceiling fans
- Tape off all keyholes and exposed door knobs/levers.
- Tarp off Plants, Outdoor Furniture, and HVAC units
- Make sure the tarp for the plants is breathable
- For furniture, it would be better if you could move them away from the house. If they are too heavy, tarping them with non-breathable tarps so not a single drop of solution can get in
- Tarp HVAC units with non-breathable tarps. The house washing solution can rust the interior of the units.
- Pre-rinse the windows of the section of the house you are going to be washing. This helps the solution not etch or scratch the windows. The water keeps the windows cool as you apply the house-washing solution to the house.
Once you’ve applied and taken all necessary precautions, you can start washing.
The cost of renting the pressure washer for a day or two from Home Depot will run you $80-$100.
The cost of buying the solution from Home Depot will run around $30-$40.
The cost of buying plants & property protection protocol material will run you $20-$30
If you don’t have any ladders lying around you may need to get one. We recommend the A-frame adjustable telescopic ladders that are around $150-$300. Depending on how high you need to go will vary in price. The great thing about a ladder is you only need to buy it once and can use it again next spring. The ladder helps you tape off electrical outlets and units that may be high.
You’re looking at spending anywhere from $250-$400 before tax as your total cost for a DIY house wash. This is only the cost of materials and equipment.
Where the cost can add up is how long it will take you to wash your house and troubleshoot washing equipment. It can very well take days if you are the first time doing it and learning.
As you gain experience you’ll be as good as the seasoned professional.
Benefit 2: Not Having To Deal With The Time In Finding A Good Company You Can Trust To Get The Job Done Right
Have you called through the entire list of companies to search for the right one who has a solution to your issue?
You spend time asking the neighbors and friends who they recommend using.
You read reviews online and then weed out the best person to work with with a list of the important factors such as:
- Pricing is important.
- Value, that’s important too!
- Customer service
- Care, how much did they understand your situation?
- Reputation, can they get the job done right? Who else has used them?
- Confidence in their solution
The list goes on and on and one factor may mean more to one person than the other.
The fact is, it takes time to find someone good to work with, and if you do, will they stay in business next year?
Going through all that can make it easier by doing it yourself.
Benefit #3: If Something Happens You Know What Caused It. And If You Catch Something Off, You’ll Know To Add It To Your List To Fix Next
If you end up breaking something or puncturing a hole in the wall from strong pressure, you know it was you.
You also can catch things off about the house. The gutters could be off-balance, the windows might have condensation, and so much more.
You become the master of your home. You know the ins and the outs. The to-do list piles on, but you are able to fix everything.
Benefits Of A Professional House Washing Company
What are the benefits of having a professional house washing company wash your home?
Benefit #1: Hands-Free White Glove Service Regain Your Time
You’re someone who doesn’t want to roll up your sleeves and get into the trenches. You don’t want to invest the money and time into buying and learning how to wash your house.
With a professional company, they take care of it all for you. From providing the latest equipment to handling your home with care. You can be on a phone meeting and in 2-3 hours the windows will be spotless and clean.
You can be at work and come home to a clean exterior house that you’ve not seen as clean in ages!
With $20,000 worth of house washing equipment, you can bet that the house will be washed to a high level of cleanliness in half the time.
Benefit #2: A Guaranteed Cleaning By Trained Professionals
What would give a siding a more thorough clean?
1.) An application of a cleaning solution from a pump-up spray.
or
2.) An application of cleaning solution from a dedicated soft wash machine.
Pump-up sprays don’t go too high up and do not provide the volume of output to cover an entire surface. Whereas a dedicated soft washing pump can release upwards to 6-10 gallons per minute.
This ensures the house gets the right coverage it needs to clean off the organic and dirt build-up.
Organic matter such as algae, mildew, lichen, and moss are a host of communities. The more black and green streaks or plant-like build-ups are on your surfaces, the harder it is to clean. You are going to need some heavy artillery to combat the issue.
Benefit #3: Done Within A Few Hours Or Several Days For Commercial Properties
If you’re in a time crunch and need the cleaning done by an exact date, a professional company would be best.
The training, experience, expertise, and equipment are all packaged into an efficient machine. If you can’t spend hours and days cleaning your property, it is best to hire a professional.
The cleaning is fast but also effective. The solution can keep a home clean for an entire year or more.
Most algae and bacteria grow by spreading their spores. The spores latch onto many areas of your home. Cleaning one spot of the house, usually the most visible area with stains, doesn’t fix the issue. The issue is much deeper and requires thorough treatment to kill the spores at the core level.
When Would It Be Good To Do It Yourself (DIY) Instead Of Hiring A Pro?
This is a great question to ask.
It lets you make better decisions based on your situation.
The answer to this question is it depends. There are many who want to take absolute care of their home and don’t have time for it.
And also some of us are obsessed with cleanliness and always want the best all the time.
But here are some suggestions:
- If your house isn’t dirty and doesn’t have black and green streaks, it wouldn’t make sense to hire. You can do it yourself as it is simple.
- If your house is single story and you can reach almost anything, then it is possible you can do it yourself.
- If you have a lot of time and enjoy cleaning your exterior, do it yourself.
- Is money tighter than time? Or is time tighter than money? Whatever the case you can make the right decision and lean to your advantage.
A professional is there to help and be a valuable asset when you need it, and whenever the time is right.
The Quality Of A House Wash From DIY VS Professional
The main point of a house wash is to clean off dirt, algae stains, mildew stains, lichen growth, and cobwebs.
But do so in a safe and efficient way.
Most DIYs do not go to the extent that an exterior washing company goes to clean a house.
DIY often uses a pressure washer to clean off stains and dirt. The issue with using a pressure washer is it doesn’t give the nice finishing look as if the house has been painted.
You can read this article to know more about pressure washing a house vs. soft washing a house.
The major key difference:
- Pressure washing doesn’t treat the problem at the core. It only looks appealing at the surface level.
- Soft washing treats the stains at the core microscopic level. It kills the spores that cause the growth in the first place.
- The pressure washer can’t reach very high, and even if it does, the pressure weakens the further it travels up.
- Soft washing doesn’t rely on pressure, it relies on delivering a biodegradable solution. Once the solution touches the surface, it starts working on its own.
- Pressure washing results will last for a couple of weeks or months.
- Soft washing results will last for a year or more.
Conclusion
Should you DIY?
Sure, why not?
But just know that you will have to exert much more effort, may injure yourself, and not get the results you want.
With a professional’s help, you get back your time to spend on things that you are passionate about. We are only on this earth for a finite amount of time.
As professionals, we are here for you to use our knowledge, expertise, equipment, and time.
Whether you choose to DIY or hire out, now you know the benefits of both. We hope it helps you make the right decision for your next project!
Until next time!
About the Author
Benjamin Nguyen, owner of Full Color Cleaners LLC, has garnered significant recognition for his company’s exemplary services in window cleaning and pressure washing, making them one of the Top Rated Exterior Cleaning companies in Austin, TX. Full Color Cleaners commendations are not only from renowned platforms like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Super Pages but also include prestigious recognitions as one of the “10 Best Austin Window Washers” by FreshChalk.com and “Best Window Washing Services in Austin” by Expertise.com. Beyond this, Benjamin’s expertise extends to specialized areas such as soft washing, roof washing, and Christmas Lights Installation, with the latter backed by his membership in CLIPA. His dedication to continuous learning is evident through his annual certifications and affiliations with Pressure Washing School and Expert Safety Services. Notably, Benjamin’s commitment to excellence in exterior cleaning is further solidified by his status as an F9 Authorize Handler, showcasing his proficiency in handling commercial chemicals.
One of the pivotal moments in Benjamin’s career trajectory was his association with the Home Service Business Coaching (HSBC) Program, steered by David James Moerman. Under David’s mentorship, Benjamin honed his business acumen, propelling Full Color Cleaners to its current stature as one of Austin’s top-rated window cleaning and pressure washing enterprises. David Moerman, a successful entrepreneur himself, has publicly endorsed Benjamin’s dedication and vision for his business. For those seeking to connect with Benjamin or learn more about Full Color Cleaners, he maintains an active presence on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Yelp, and Indeed.
Benjamin Nguyen Contact Info:
benjamin@fullcolorcleaners.com
512-883-2807
fullcolorcleaners.com
