House Washing in St. Augustine, FL

What a house wash includes

A house wash covers every side of the house, from the eaves down to the ground, not just the side that faces the street.

• Soft wash of every wall: siding, stucco, brick and trim
• A stronger cleaning mix on black mold and heavy algae
• Eaves and the undersides of overhangs, where dirt and mildew collect
• Garage doors, pre-wet and cleaned with a cleaning solution so the paint stays on
• Spot treatment for rust stains on the walls
• A full rinse, top to bottom, and before and after photos of your house

Soft wash, not high pressure

High pressure on a house can strip paint, force water behind siding and tear screens, and it still leaves the roots of the algae and mildew behind.

A soft wash flips that around. The cleaning solution does the work and kills the growth, and low pressure rinses it away. Brick, siding and stucco each get the approach that fits them, which is why a soft-washed house holds up longer than one that was just blasted.

What the color of the growth tells you

On a Northeast Florida house, algae usually shows up first as a green tint on the shaded walls. Left alone, it shifts to orange and red, and eventually to black. Black usually means mold, and mold takes a stronger cleaning mix to treat.

The longer it sits, the harder it is to get off. Humidity, afternoon storms, sprinklers and shade from big oaks keep the shaded sides damp, and that's where it starts. Green today is the easiest it will ever be to remove.

Garage doors and rust stains

That white chalky film on a painted garage door isn't dirt. It's oxidation, the paint itself breaking down in the sun. Pressure wash it the wrong way and the paint comes off with it. Jordan pre-wets the door and uses a cleaning solution, so the chalk lifts without stripping the paint underneath.

Rust stains are another thing people assume are permanent. Greg Tran had a lot of rust buildup on his walls, and it came clean off with no damage to the paint.

What affects your price

House washing starts at $300 for a one-story home and $400 for a two-story.

Every house is quoted on its own because no two are the same. These are the things that move the number:

The fastest way to a quote: text a photo of each side of the house to (904) 412-8080. If the concrete out front needs it too, the driveway cleaning page covers that side of the job.

• Size of the house and number of stories
• Siding, stucco, brick or a mix
• How heavy the growth is, and whether it has turned black
• Rust stains, garage door oxidation or other spot work
• Access: fences, tight side yards and landscaping against the walls
• Other work on the same visit, like the driveway, gutters or roof

Years of buildup, and when a wash isn't enough

Some of the best before and afters come from houses that haven't been cleaned in years. Debra Sellers' home hadn't been washed in over five years and was in pretty bad shape. Jenna Price's house had gone five years too, with a roof that had never been done. Both said it came out looking brand new.

Heavy growth takes more time and a stronger mix, but it doesn't mean the house is too far gone. If the roof looks the same, a roof cleaning can be done on the same visit.

A wash cleans paint. It doesn't repair it. If paint is already peeling, a clean wall shows that more clearly, and the next call is a painter. Jordan will tell you that from your photos rather than sell you a wash that won't fix it.