With fewer homeowners moving each year, and the U.S. climate, especially that in Central Virginia, becoming progressively wet and humid, annual power washing is growing very popular for property owners looking to maintain the value of their most prized investment – their home!
Accordingly, there are literally hundreds of power washing contractors in your local service area to choose from, as power washing has relatively low startup costs compared to some other home service industries. A recent Google search of “power washing service richmond va” produced search results of 213 service providers in Richmond, VA that have this service listed on their Google business profile!
As a homeowner, this makes the job of hiring a reputable contractor much more difficult, especially when it comes to what is a fair price to pay for the scope of work needed.
In this post, first we share with you several important factors that influence the quoted price for power washing service. Second, we offer some general guidelines and examples for how much you might expect to pay for power washing service. Finally, we consider power washing service costs from the contractor’s point of view and elaborate on the different costs that go into a reputable power washing contractor’s pricing.
Factors impacting your power washing price
Substrate to be Cleaned
What needs to be cleaned? That is the first question to answer. Is it brick? Concrete? Wood siding? Exposed aggregate? Vinyl? Stone pavers? The possibilities are practically endless.
Each substrate to be cleaned involves at least a slightly different power washing technique. Further, for delicate surfaces like painted wood, vinyl, and Hardie Plank, a softwashing process is recommended to prevent damage and kill mold and mildew at their source.
Stucco and EIFS are especially porous materials that often require 2-3 applications of concentrated chemical, so these processes can take longer to clean and consume more cleaning agent.
Flat surfaces that can withstand power washing pressure can often be cleaned with mechanical tools like a surface scrubber, which allows the power washing technician to clean significantly more surface in the same amount of time.
Location on the property
Is the area to be power washed easily accessible with the proper technique. For contractors that provide roof washing service or power wash chimneys at higher elevations on the home, accessibility is a major issue when it comes to performing the work effectively and safely. Homeowners can often expect to pay higher prices for work performed above the roof line.
Level of soil
Extremely dirty surfaces can take much longer to clean and create more risk of damage from the power washing service. Therefore, most contractors pricing a home softwashing or power washing service allow for soil factor variability in their price-per-square foot.
Chemicals, tools and equipment needed to do the job
For house washing or softwashing service, the most common cleaning agent used is sodium hypochlorite (bleach). But bleach is far from the only cleaning agent used in home power washing. Acids, household detergents (e.g., Simple Green), and cornucopia of specialty chemicals are often needed to do a job right, and a good power washing quote will take these into account.
There are a multitude of pressure washing tools that can increase productivity on the job. A pressure washing machine will put out a standard-specified gallons-per-minute (GPM), but the pressure washing technician can adjust the pressure per square foot (PSI) by changing the nozzle from wider gauge (lower PSI) to narrower gauge (higher PSI). Certain nozzles even allow the technician to softwash elevated parts of the home like soffit and fascia board. The contractor also has the option to use rolling surface scrubbers on large, flat surfaces like driveways and sport courts. Finally, extension wands can be used to increase the reach of the pressure washing wand, which is especially beneficial when pressure cleaning hard-to-reach masonry, such as chimneys.
For roof work, certain power washing companies prefer to use aerial work platforms (aerial lifts) for roof washing. A single aerial lift rental can cost up to $3,000 for just a couple of days onsite. If your contractor is insisting on using an aerial lift, have them provide you with a detailed explanation of why this is necessary and how the cost is justified.
Skills and training required
The most important input to your power washing cost is labor, not only how many hours of labor will be needed, but what type of skill and experience will be needed and what the hourly rate shall be for a given level of skill and experience. The contractor will want to put the right technician on the job, and this could have some implications to the price of your service.
Fixed price quote vs. time and materials
Most power washing service quotes in 2025 are emailed or sent via text message to customers, with the ability to review the quote on your smartphone or computer and then approve the work order electronically. This improves the customer experience.
Fixed price quotes are typical in the power washing industry, with work itemized out in discrete buckets (e.g., house washing, driveway pressure washing, patio pressure washing, etc.). It’s rarer to see a time and materials quote for power washing work, as most homeowners prefer to know what they will pay up front, while contractors enjoy a nice benefit when work is completed more efficiently than the quote anticipates.
Power washing cost examples
Contractors will often simplify the pricing of power washing projects by using square footage measurements along with per-square-foot pricing to come up with a total price for the area to be cleaned. Below, we provide some examples of different power washing projects and the range of price quotes a homeowner might realistically see for the work described.
Example #1: House washing for 3,000 ft2 wood siding home
House washing or softwashing for a standard-size single family is usually one of the easier washing services to price. Most contractors will price standard softwashing service at between $0.10 and $0.30 per square foot depending on the surface substrate, soil condition, number of stories, and other hardscapes. Painted wood is one of the easier surfaces to clean, so in this example an indicative price quote range would be $350-$500 for the entire home.
Example #2: Driveway power washing for 1,000 ft2 surface
For concrete and exposed aggregate driveways, it is typical to see prices of $0.15-$0.30 per square foot, depending on the condition of the surface. For a 1,000 ft2 driveway with medium soil, an indicative price range would be around $150-$300 for the driveway in total. Note that this price only reflects a maintenance power washing of the driveway, if the homeowner wishes to seal their driveway to provide long-term protection against dirt, UV damage, and oil spills, the price quote should separately itemize out sealing and crack repair for the exposed aggregate or concrete driveway.
Example #3: Washing a 750 ft2 composite and vinyl rear deck
In the construction of new homes, we are seeing an increased use of composite deck boards and vinyl railing and trim. These materials may cost more than pressure-treated pine, but with the proper maintenance composite decking can last 2-3x as long as its wood equivalent. For deck washing service, a softwashing technique is most appropriate. However, to wash a deck, the softwashing technician encounters more variables than with home siding. There is more detailed wand work around the rails, furniture to move, and planters to safely cover. For these reasons, we find prices can range between $0.20 and $0.40 per square foot. For a large deck (750 ft2), a fairly-priced deck washing service may be in the range of $200-$300.
Putting the three services together…
The owner of the property in the three examples just provided wishes to engage a contractor for home softwashing, driveway power washing, and deck washing. The homeowner should expect to pay anywhere from $700-$1,100 for these three services, and the contractor should expect to be onsite for around 4-6 hours.
What costs does the pressure washing company need to consider?
When it comes to power washing companies, there are a wide range of options to choose from. Some contractors use what we like to call the “Average Joe” model. These power washers are known for:
- Having no office staff or administrative personnel
- Taking quote requests on their cell phones
- Spending very little to maintain their brand and website
- Being under-insured or having no insurance whatsoever
- Employing low-wage service technicians who don’t wear uniforms and hate their jobs
Sometimes what you pay for is what you get…
A professional power washing company, on the hand, may charge a bit more per hour (qualified professional power washing contractors usually charge anywhere from $100-$200 per hour of technician time), but these service providers must include costs in their price quotes that ultimately benefit you, the client!
Below is a sampling of important costs that a well-managed power washing company must cover in its price quotes to provide its clients with high quality service:
- Technician labor: Qualified technicians in the power washing industry cost their employer $20-$30 per hour worked when considering base pay, overtime, taxes and benefits.
- CRM (customer relationship management) system: A good power washing company keeps impeccable electronic records, and that means well-documented price quotes, work orders, photos and notes for the property to be cleaned, easy electronic invoicing and online payment for customers, and a client portal where customers can refer back to work performed on previous service dates. Implementation of a high-quality CRM system is one of the most important investments that a power washing contractor can make in its customers.
- Training and management: Technicians should be trained and certified by management to perform work on your property. It takes management time and training resources to deliver a high-quality service.
- Truck costs: Gasoline, wrapped vehicles, and ongoing maintenance.
- Equipment and supplies: Motors, pumps, hoses, tanks, aluminum skids, chemicals, parts, work-appropriate uniforms and PPE….the list goes on when you are setting your technicians up for success.
- Insurance: Last but certainly not least, professional power washing companies carry appropriate insurance coverage for workers’ compensation, general liability and automotive exposures. Well-insured companies in the pressure washing industry often pay as much as $5,000 / year in insurance premiums for every technician employed. Trust us, you do not want to invite an uninsured contractor onto your property. If in doubt, always ask your contractors for a certificate of insurance (COI) so you can see their insurance limits by coverage type.
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Whew! We know this was a lot of information, so please don’t hesitate to reach us at our office if you have questions about any of this content or would like a free consultation to review a potential power washing service need at your home. Call us today at 804-231-0749 or reach us by email at [email protected].
