Open up any neighborhood Facebook group and ask for a house washing recommendation. Within twenty minutes you'll have fifteen replies — a mix of established companies, guys who just bought a pressure washer last spring, and at least one handyman who does "a little of everything." They're all calling themselves professionals. They're not all the same. Here's how to tell the difference — and why it matters more than you'd think.
There Are Really Three Types of People Offering Power Washing Services
Before you call anyone, it helps to understand the landscape. The power washing industry has almost no barrier to entry. You can buy a pressure washer at any big box store, create a Facebook business page that afternoon, and start taking calls by the weekend. That's not a hypothetical — it happens constantly. So when you're getting quotes, here's who you're actually dealing with.
The New Operator — Learning on Your Home
Just got into the industry. Equipment is new, experience is not. Often the cheapest quote you'll find — because they need the job to figure out how to do it.
The Handyman / Jack of All Trades
Offers pressure washing alongside painting, gutter cleaning, landscaping, and six other things. Exterior cleaning is a side service, not a specialty — and it shows.
The Dedicated Professional
This is their lane — and only their lane. Certified, trained, insured specifically for exterior cleaning, and experienced enough to know what they're doing before they touch your property.
All three will show up with a pressure washer. Only one of them truly knows what to do with it. Let's break down each type — honestly and specifically — so you can spot the difference before you hand anyone a deposit.
The New Operator: Enthusiastic, Inexpensive, and Learning on Your Dime
They've watched a lot of YouTube videos. They bought a solid pressure washer and a few buckets of cleaner. They've done their own driveway and their buddy's house, and honestly? It went pretty well. Now they're in business.
The new operator isn't necessarily a bad person — they just haven't earned the experience yet to know what they don't know. And in exterior cleaning, what you don't know can do real damage. They don't yet know the difference between vinyl siding that can handle a standard rinse and oxidized vinyl that will strip under the same pressure. They don't know that the cleaning solution they're applying at full strength near your boxwoods will have them looking dead in four days. They haven't learned yet that improper neutralization leaves salt residue that eats at your gutters and trim over time.
They'll figure all of that out eventually. The question is whether they figure it out on your property.
- Often the cheapest quote — pricing based on what they think the job is worth, not what it actually costs to do correctly
- May not carry proper commercial insurance, or carry a general policy that excludes the very surfaces they're working on
- Little to no formal training — no PWNA certification, no OSHA compliance, no chemical handling education
- Fake or borrowed reviews are common — stock photos, other contractors' before-and-afters, or inflated review counts
- Sometimes charges by the hour — because they haven't developed the efficiency to quote flat rates yet, meaning slower work costs you more
The Jack of All Trades: Good at Some Things, Not Great at This One
Give the handyman credit — they're resourceful. They show up on time, they work hard, and they can fix a lot of things around your home. But here's the thing about being a jack of all trades: you are, by definition, a master of none. Exterior cleaning is a legitimate specialty that requires dedicated training, specific equipment, and an understanding of chemistry that goes well beyond "spray it and rinse it off."
The handyman who offers soft washing as one of fifteen services probably owns a consumer-grade pressure washer, uses off-the-shelf cleaning solutions without professional surfactants, and treats every surface roughly the same way. They're not going to pre-wet your landscaping before applying sodium hypochlorite. They're probably not applying a neutralizing finishing soap after the clean. And they almost certainly aren't PWNA certified or OSHA trained in chemical handling.
The results are usually fine on the surface level — and that's exactly the problem. The real damage often shows up weeks later in dead plants, salt-etched metals, or algae that comes roaring back in a fraction of the time because the spores were never actually eliminated.
- Exterior cleaning is a side service — not their core focus, training, or investment area
- Consumer-grade equipment lacks the output and consistency of professional systems
- Generic cleaning solutions without professional surfactants deliver surface-level results
- Rarely certified in house washing, roof cleaning, or soft washing techniques
- No dedicated process — no pre-wet, no dwell management, no neutralizing rinse
- Insurance likely covers handyman work but may have significant exclusions for exterior chemical cleaning
The Dedicated Professional: This Is All They Do — And It Shows
A dedicated exterior cleaning professional has made a deliberate choice to specialize. They've invested in professional-grade equipment. They've gone through formal certification training. They carry the right insurance. They've developed a multi-step process built around protecting your property — not just cleaning it — because they've learned through years of real experience what happens when you skip a step.
This is the contractor who walks your property before the job starts and flags the oxidized siding section that may not fully clean, the crumbling mortar joint near the foundation, and the landscaping bed that needs extra pre-wetting before any chemistry gets near it. They're not doing this to pad the quote — they're doing it because they've seen what happens when those things go unaddressed.
At Simple Clean LLC, Ryan McGowan has been doing this work for over 18 years. He holds PWNA certifications in House Washing , Roof Cleaning, and Power Washing Fundamentals. He serves on the PWNA Board of Directors. His team is OSHA 1910, EPA, and GHS/HazCom trained. And every job includes the same multi-step process — pre-wet, soft wash, neutralize — regardless of how simple or complex the property is.
- Exterior cleaning is the specialty — every piece of equipment, training, and process is built around it
- PWNA certified with documentation — not just a claim, a credential that can be verified
- Proper commercial insurance with coverage specifically for exterior cleaning surfaces
- Multi-step process: pre-wetting, professional soft wash solution, neutralizing finishing soap
- OSHA, EPA, and GHS/HazCom trained — chemical handling done safely and responsibly every time
- Authentic reviews from real, local clients — not borrowed photos or manufactured five-star ratings
- Flat-rate, scope-based pricing — no hourly billing, no surprises
Side by Side — How the Three Stack Up
| What to Look For | 🚨 New Operator | ⚠️ Handyman | ✅ Dedicated Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry Certifications | None | None | PWNA Certified |
| Years of Experience | < 2 years | Varied — not specialized | 10+ years dedicated |
| Proper Insurance | Often missing or incomplete | General coverage, likely exclusions | Full exterior cleaning coverage |
| Equipment | Consumer-grade | Consumer or light commercial | Professional-grade |
| Cleaning Solutions | Basic, off-the-shelf | Generic, no professional surfactants | Professional chemistry with surfactants |
| Multi-Step Process | No defined process | Spray and rinse | Pre-wet, soft wash, neutralize |
| Plant & Property Protection | Not considered | Inconsistent | Built into every job |
| Pricing Structure | Hourly or under-priced | Bundled with other services | Flat rate, scope-based |
| Reviews | Fake or borrowed | Mixed, not exterior-specific | Authentic, local, verified |
That unusually low quote is telling you something. A legitimate, insured, certified exterior cleaning professional has real costs — equipment, insurance, training, quality chemicals, and time. When someone is dramatically underpricing the competition, something in that list is missing. It's usually insurance, training, or both. And you'll find out which one when something goes wrong and there's nobody to call.
🔍 Before You Book Anyone — Ask These Questions
- Are you PWNA certified? Which certifications specifically, and can you show documentation?
- Do you carry commercial general liability insurance AND workers' compensation — with coverage for exterior chemical cleaning surfaces?
- What's your cleaning process? Do you pre-wet surfaces before applying solution? Do you apply a neutralizing rinse afterward?
- What cleaning solutions do you use, and how do you protect landscaping from chemical runoff?
- How long have you been in business specifically doing exterior cleaning — not just general contracting or handyman work?
- Are you OSHA or EPA trained in chemical handling and application?
- Is your estimate in writing, and does it include a certificate of insurance and terms of service?
- Are your reviews authentic and local — or do your photos look like they could belong to anyone?
A new operator or a handyman probably can't answer most of those questions confidently. A dedicated professional can answer all of them — immediately, specifically, and without hesitation. That gap in response quality tells you everything you need to know before the job even starts.
