When shopping for house washing services in Charlotte, you should compare side by side what you are getting for your money. The truth is that there is more to pressure washing a home than just spraying it with a pressure washer. Our technicians have washed hundreds of homes in the Charlotte area and have seen first hand what kind of damage inexperienced pressure washing contractors can cause to exterior surfaces. You must exercise caution and do your due diligence when hiring a contractor or company to wash your property so you are not left with a big mess on your hands.
When you hire a Charlotte pressure washing company or contractor, you should ask for proof of liability insurance. The insurance can cover the cost of damages in the event something happens during the performance of the service. Also ask contractors how they plan on washing your home – are they using soft washing, down streaming (we use both methods) or do they plan on applying full pressure to clean the exterior of your home? A good understanding of how your property will be washed will reveal if the washing method that will be used is safe and effective or not.
As a professional pressure washing company serving Charlotte, we follow best practices when washing properties. See some of our most recent house washing projects. Below we go over the 6 major component of house wash items you should check when hiring a local pressure washing company.
1. Vegetation protocol when house washing
The biodegradable cleaning solution we use to remove mildew, algae and other organics from exterior surfaces is made to eradicate organic matters. As such, care should be taken to protect the vegetation in plant and flower beds around a house. Failure to do so could lead to dead plants and dead grass. One way to neutralize the algicide we use is to soak the area with water before, during and after washing exterior surfaces. Using this process, we have had zero issues washing hundreds of homes in the Charlotte area.
2. Covering electrical outlets, keyholes and protecting personal property
To remove organics like mildew, mold, algae, moss and lichens, a potent algicide is needed. We use 12.5% sodium hypochlorite and an enhancer / surfactant which we dilute to the proper ratio to eliminate organics. Because we handle large amount of water and chemicals, it’s important to protect electrical outlets and keyholes as well as having a vegetation protection protocol in place. We care about our customers properties and want to ensure we get the best cleaning results safely. This added protection and level of care is part of a professional house washing service.
3. Using the right equipment when washing homes in Charlotte
We use commercial-grade washing equipment to wash homes in Charlotte. Doing so allows our technicians to achieve deeper cleaning results for our customers. We only use high performance equipment made for professionals. We can spray and rinse further and higher with a strong water flow (not higher pressure) by using 8GPM machines. We soft wash or down stream all the homes we wash. The only surfaces we wash using high water pressure are concrete and brick.
Depending on the job at hand, we use either soft washing (low pressure washing with less than 100psi) or down streaming (using a commercial pressure washing machine and reducing the water pressure by using special nozzles) to apply water and cleaning solutions. Our commercial pressure washers work great to remove residue, cobwebs and other grime on siding without the need of much pressure.
4. Pre-wetting surfaces
Pre-wetting surfaces is an important step in the house washing process. Especially on warm days like the ones we get in Charlotte, surfaces should be pre-wet before applying any type of cleaning solution. Windows, doors, metal roofs, metal railing and other exterior fixtures should be soaked and rinsed through the house washing process. Failing to take those precautions could lead to etching and surface discolorations. As well, throughout the house washing process, the cleaning solution should not be allowed to dry on surfaces and surfaces should be kept moist until rinsing.
5. Using proper technique and specific cleaning solution strength
Homeowner and professional-grade cleaning solutions are very different. Professional-grade cleaning solutions (surfactant and algicide) are much more effective and yield better cleaning results. Bluewhale Powerwash uses professional grade solutions that are designed to remove organics (mildew, mold, algae, moss, lichens), residue and other types of contaminants from exterior surfaces.
We use a proportioner (metering valves) and high performance electric pumps to pull specific amounts surfactant, algicide and water from our water tanks to spray the cleaning solution on exterior surfaces. Using a solution that is too strong could damage siding, windows and doors. If too weak, the cleaning solution won’t yield the desired results. Further, different materials require different cleaning solution strengths. For example, vinyl siding and stucco would be treated differently. This is where experience and knowing what you are doing comes into play. Using too much sodium hypochlorite can etch windows, discolor stained doors and shutters and cause oxidation on siding.
Also using too much pressure can cause damage to siding and other exterior surfaces. We often see oxidized siding when washing homes in Charlotte. Oxidation is basically when the paint on siding (vinyl, wood , fiber cement and aluminum) has failed from continuous sun exposure. The result is the formation of a white chalky film on top of the siding. When washing a home using too much water pressure, the pressure can remove some oxidation on parts of the siding. The results are lines etched in the siding which are very difficult to remove. Mostly blue and tan colored siding are affected by oxidation.
6. Rinsing siding from the right angle
This specifically applies to vinyl siding that has not been washed in a while. When rinsing siding after a house wash, our technicians are careful to rinse siding in the direction they are lapped to avoid water from getting behind the siding. Vinyl siding is built with weep holes, which are openings in the siding that allow trapped moisture and condensation to escape from behind the siding to avoid mildew and mold build up.
With time, dirt can get trapped behind the vinyl siding. When spraying water at the wrong angle, water will mix with the dirt and brown streaks of dirty water will escape and run along the siding at the weep holes making the surface look dirty. With a good rain and the dew in the morning, those brown streaks usually resolve on their own, but it can be frustrating for a customer to have to deal with this issue when they have paid a professional pressure washing company to wash their home.
If you live in the Charlotte area and are looking to hire a professional pressure washing company to wash your home the proper way, call Bluewhale Powerwash wash at (704) 272-4726 to request a free quote or request a quote online through our website.
