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Pressure washing job checklist
Walk the property and photograph damage before any water goes on. Close the windows, cover outlets and lights, soak the plants and test each surface. Wash top to bottom and the house before the flatwork, so dirty runoff never lands on something already clean. Rinse the plants again, check for streaks and damage in good light, and walk the customer around. Never skip the test spot: it sets the pressure and mix before a mistake reaches a whole wall.
Edit the wash list
Strike the surfaces you are not washing today and keep the order: house first, then decks and fences, flatwork last. Add stain treatment or sealing if it was sold.
Pressure washing job checklist
- Walk around with the customer: surfaces, stains, spigot and drains
- Photograph cracks, loose siding, peeling paint and stains that may stay
- Close and latch windows and doors; turn on the spigot and test flow
- Move cars, grills, patio furniture, mats and toys out of the spray
- Bag or tape outlets, lights, cameras, doorbells and the AC disconnect
- Soak plants, shrubs and the lawn edge; cover the delicate ones
- Test a hidden spot on each surface for pressure, tip and mix
- House: soft wash siding, apply bottom up and rinse top down
- House: soffits, gutter faces, trim, shutters and window frames
- Decks and fences: low pressure, wide tip, along the grain
- Flatwork: pre-treat oil and rust, surface clean, then edges and steps
- Rinse plants, windows and walls again as each side is finished
- Check concrete for stripes and siding for streaks in good light
- Look for lifted siding, water indoors, etched glass or gouged wood
- Uncover outlets and lights, check they work, put furniture back
- Rinse the walks and driveway clear of runoff and debris
- After photos from the same spots as the before photos
- Walk the customer around: what lifted, what stayed and what comes next
Which surfaces get soft washed and which get pressure?
Siding, stucco, roofs, painted wood and screens get soft washing: low pressure and a cleaning solution that kills the mildew, then a rinse. Concrete, pavers and stone take pressure, best with a surface cleaner for even passes, though pavers lose joint sand if the wand gets close. Decks and fences sit in between: low pressure, a wide tip, along the grain. Write the method beside each surface so a new hire never blasts vinyl.
The usual house-wash mistake is turning the pressure up to save time. High pressure drives water behind lap siding, strips oxidized paint, furs soft wood and breaks window seals, and the damage often shows days later as a stain on an inside wall or fog between the panes. Let the solution do the cleaning and give it time to work; keep the pressure for concrete.
What should you cover before pressure washing?
Anything electric and anything growing. Bag or tape outside outlets, light fixtures, cameras and doorbells, and close and latch every window, because an unlatched window still lets water in under pressure. Soak plants, shrubs and the lawn edge before any solution goes on, then rinse them again after. Move cars, grills and patio furniture out of both the spray and the runoff path.
What do you check before the customer walk-through?
Every surface in good light, from where the customer will stand. On concrete, look for stripes from overlapping passes and wand marks along the edges; on siding, streaks and spots the solution missed under the eaves. Check that the outlets and lights still work, no water got indoors and nothing is etched or lifted. Fix what you find while the rig is still set up.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pressure wash in cold weather?
Not when it will freeze before things dry. Water left on steps and walks turns to ice, and water forced into cracks in concrete can freeze and flake the surface. Cleaning solutions also work slower in the cold. Check the overnight low as well as the daytime high, and move the job if the walks would ice over.
Does the customer need to be home for a pressure washing job?
At the start and the end, or at least reachable. You need windows shut from the inside, the water on, cars moved and gates open. If they will be out, ask for all of that the day before, and photograph the latched windows and the running spigot before you start, so nobody wonders later.
When can a washed deck or driveway be sealed?
Once it is fully dry, which usually means another visit. Stain on damp wood blotches and peels, and sealer over wet concrete traps the moisture and can turn cloudy. Offer sealing at the walk-through as its own job with its own date, and write on the invoice when the surface should be ready.