Exterior Cleaning near you

Ask a contractor what they will do differently on your particular exterior. A confident, specific answer is the single best predictor of a job that does not end in a repair.

EPA requires that anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 be certified in lead-safe work practices, and states that the requirement applies to all firms, even sole proprietorships. Washing a painted exterior can disturb paint, particularly where it is chalked, peeling or already failing, which is precisely the condition that prompts most people to have a house washed.

EPA's position on the method is that pressure washing is not a prohibited practice under the rule but is subject to the same containment requirements as other permissible work practices. The firm must isolate the work area so that no dust or debris, including in the waste water, leaves the work area, and must maintain the integrity of that containment by ensuring plastic or other impermeable materials are not torn or displaced. EPA also says it is important to properly dispose of the waste water used during pressure washing, and suggests checking with your local water treatment authority.

There is a narrow exception for minor work. EPA's minor repair and maintenance provision covers 20 square feet or less of exterior painted surface, and the agency has clarified that the limit is the total disturbed across the property rather than an allowance per side, and that the work must avoid prohibited practices and must not involve window replacement or demolition of painted surfaces. A full house wash is not within that exception. If your house predates 1978 and is painted, ask for the firm's EPA lead-safe certification before the work is scheduled, and ask how containment and waste water will be handled.

Frequency is set by climate and exposure rather than by a national rule. Humid Southeastern walls grow mildew and algae fast, especially where a wall faces north or sits under trees. Pacific Northwest houses collect moss on shaded elevations and in the shadow of overhangs. Gulf and Atlantic coastal houses accumulate salt film that returns quickly. Desert houses hold mineral dust that streaks after monsoon rain. In much of the country the visible trigger is simply spring pollen, which is a nuisance rather than a threat to the wall.

What extends the interval is airflow and light. Trimming shrubs back off the siding, thinning branches that keep a wall permanently shaded, redirecting sprinkler heads that spray the house, and keeping gutters and downspouts working so water does not run down the wall all slow regrowth measurably more than choosing a stronger chemical does. Where one elevation is always the problem, the honest fix is usually the shade or the water hitting it, not the cleaning schedule.

The water that leaves your walls carries everything that was on them plus whatever was used to remove it. EPA's NPDES stormwater program regulates discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems, construction activities and industrial activities, and permitted municipalities implement stormwater management programs describing the control practices they use to minimize the discharge of pollutants from the system. Because storm drains generally discharge to surface water without treatment, the local rules on washwater are worth a phone call to your city or county stormwater office before the job, particularly if your property drains straight to the street.

Ask two more questions about the products themselves. First, what is being applied and what does its label say about contact time, dilution and plants, because the difference between a wall that looks clean and a wall that is clean is usually dwell time rather than strength. Second, if the company advertises that its product kills mold or mildew, ask to see the label: EPA defines antimicrobial pesticides as substances used to destroy or suppress the growth of harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses or fungi on inanimate objects and surfaces, and it registers thousands of such products. A claim to kill something is a claim about a registered product, and the label is the document that says what it does.

The number follows the wall area, the material and the obstacles rather than the square footage of the house. What moves a US quote is the number of stories and how the upper walls are reached, the siding material and its condition, how much biological growth there is and whether one treatment will clear it, the amount of trim, soffit and fascia included, how much landscaping and hardscape needs protecting, whether windows and screens are part of the job, water and power access, and on a pre-1978 painted house whether lead-safe certification and containment are required. Roof cleaning, gutter cleaning, window cleaning and concrete work are all separate services, and bundling them without separate line items makes the bids impossible to compare.

LokalMatch is where this begins. You describe the house once: the siding material, how many stories, what is growing on which elevations, roughly when it was built, and what you want included. Exterior cleaning companies serving your area receive the request and the interested ones contact you directly. Pros pay for the requests they receive, and the service is free for homeowners. LokalMatch does not wash houses, does not set prices, and does not vet, rank or recommend any company, so verifying insurance, EPA lead-safe certification where it applies, and the written scope remains yours.