The Residential Obstacle
Since expanding my company’s pressure washing services over the past couple of years, I have run into an obstacle in the residential market when estimating projects for homeowners. There is a common myth that pressure washing is harmful to homes and exterior surfaces. Initially, when faced with customer reluctance to washing, I would respond that it was a ‘myth’ that pressure washing is harmful. More recently, I have changed the semantics of that discussion a bit.
I no longer think it is a ‘myth’ that pressure washing is harmful. I believe it to be absolutely true that pressure washing, when executed with the wrong technique and process, can be one of the worst things that could ever happen to a home. When done properly, with the right products, equipment and processes, it is likely one of the best investments a homeowner can make in the appearance and performance of their exterior surfaces. In fact, I would now go so far as to say that the absence of periodic pressure washing could be one of the most unfortunate things to happen to a home.
The other day I was on an estimate with homeowners of a large cedar sided timber frame home. The homeowners were unusual in the sense that they had been trying every year or two to stay on top of the maintenance of their home. Their previous painter had fallen off the standing seam roof a couple of years ago and never returned. There was one large gable end over a couple of hip roof sections that was left as it was the day he fell. On further discussion, I learned that the painter had never done any pressure washing or cleaning on the home. He would just come every year or two and keep applying oil.
Needless to say, I had to explain to the homeowner that they are very near that critical threshold where they either restore the siding and start with a proper maintenance plan going forward, or keep doing what has been done and accept the fact that the house will turn black sooner than later. For those of you who may not know, oil is a breeding ground for mildew and mold. When you apply oil to siding that is harboring mildew, mold or water stains, you are actually providing an even better environment for these contaminants to thrive. Oil can make things much worse, even simple water staining and streaks are enhanced with the application of oil. This is what I was looking at on my estimate, and this is what I had to explain to the customer. I know what to do about this because I have been educated, and I have experience with this exact issue. And so the consumer education begins.
All this to say, those of us in the industry probably forget sometimes that the consumer and the general public do not understand the maintenance requirements for their properties and how a proper washing and maintenance cycle can eliminate many of the aesthetic and performance issues that arise over time. I am talking about very, very simple principles. I have had customers express concern that pressure washing would cause water to migrate behind their siding and rot the sheathing behind it, or rot the siding itself from the backside out. It is critical that we all take several steps back and realize that homeowners, and even property managers, realtors and others whom we try to service, do not have a clear understanding of the proper practices that we all try to expound. I have been in bidding situations on residential mildew cleaning and restaining projects against painters who didn’t even own a pressure washer and were advocating bucket and sponges as the responsible way to clean a home exterior. The pressure washing industry has a lot of work to do.
Consumer education is one of the most essential aspects of what we need to do to improve the pressure washing industry. Take the time to educate people on your estimates. Try to resist the convenience of quoting prices over the phone to avoid having to drive to the estimate. Request meetings - “two leggers”, with the husband/wife or key decision makers present - where you can look at the property, surfaces and issues. Take the time to educate the consumer about the condition of their property and its maintenance needs. Even if you are not selected by the customer at this time, maybe you can help them to at least make a decision based on the realities of their maintenance requirements. My belief is that this will not only increase your chances of gaining new customers, but it will go far toward clarifying the most common misperception that pressure washing is not a good idea.
Scott Burt
