Finding an Honest Power Washing Company

Power washing hasn’t always been perceived by the public as a serious profession. Blemished by fly-by-night companies due to undersized start up costs, the trade has constantly fought a mounting battle to be a professional service industry that can stand sturdy on its own. Being a contractor I have heard shocking stories of people being taken advantage of or having their property wrecked by discreditable contractors that thought they knew what they were doing.

The excellent news is there are professional power washing companies out there that do have awareness of equipment, cleaners, methods, business and customer satisfaction. While searching for a trustworthy contractor in your area keep these things in mind; always ask the contractor questions to check their knowledge, ask how long they’ve been in business, make sure they power wash full time, and that their focus is in power washing only.

Avoid contractors or handymen that offer every service under the sun like hauling trash, mowing, painting, power washing and so on. Find a contractor that makes his livelihood servicing others, not someone that just does it on the weekends for some extra beer money. Don’t give into an incredibly low price, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, remember you get what you pay for. Lastly, you should always demand the contractor for a written guarantee, references and testimonials. If they cannot stand behind their work or their customers aren’t saying first class things about them then you can’t expect them to give you professional results.

Power Washing Tips

Many home owners around the country prefer to take on their own exterior cleaning projects. Some may have had a bad experience with an unethical contractor in the past or they may just enjoy the satisfaction of being a do-it-yourselfer. Whatever the case; attempting a project like cleaning your homes exterior can be a frightening task. Most accidents resulting in personal injury or property damage are caused from a lack of knowledge. You can help this situation by doing your homework and researching cleaning methods and techniques. For instance, the Vinyl Siding Institute has guidelines and suggestions for cleaning siding as do most of the major shingle manufacturers for cleaning shingle roofs. Knowing these guidelines and other power washing tips can make your exterior cleaning task a little easier and safer. It can also help to reduce the risk of damaging your siding, roof, deck, or other surfaces around your property.

Your Home and Power Washing

Your home is probably your largest investment and you know it is well worth the time and effort to take care of it. Power washing can increase your homes curb appeal which reflects on your image. Cleaning the exterior of your home and property can also increase its value, but it can be a daunting task. Finding a professional contractor that offers power washing services can be well worth the effort and cost. A reputable contractor will have the proper knowledge, equipment, and cleaners necessary to do the job properly and in a timely fashion. The end result for you is a well maintained home, free of dirt, mold, and mildew which will cause rot and decay. Having these services done eliminates the risk of future repairs, renovations, and replacements of the building materials that make up your home. Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or looking to hire a contractor, taking care of your homes exterior helps to protect your largest investment.

Roof Algae Audit

Can you really clean a shingle roof? The major shingle manufacturers say the answer is yes. Asphalt shingles suffering from a type of airborne algae called Gloeocapsa Magma can be cleaned to restore the roof’s appearance. This alga appears as black stains or streaks on your roof. Roof algae normally first appears on the north facing slopes of the roof where the prevailing amount of shade and moisture are present. The algae lands on the roof and feeds on nutrients in the shingles, as it rains the algae is spread down the roof causing the black streaks.
This condition will deteriorate the roof prematurely by not letting the shingles reflect heat like they need to.

The good news is this alga can be killed and removed by using methods recommended by the shingle manufacturers without causing damage to the shingles. Having your algae covered roof cleaned, while the shingles are still in good shape, is a great way to save yourself the cost of a total roof replacement and insure you'll get the full life out of your roof.

Low Pressure Approach

What does it mean when a contractor says he uses low pressure washing methods? Low pressure washing is using very low pounds per square inch (psi) of water pressure to clean with. Contractors using low pressure rely on their cleaners to do the work and the gallons per minute (gpm) to do the washing and rinsing. This method of low pressure, quality cleaners, and high gallons per minute is very effective in cleaning most anything on your property. This method also eliminates risk of damaging your property like forcing water behind your home’s siding or shredding the wood fibers on your deck.

Contractors not using the low pressure method will be using high water pressure to blast the surface clean instead of depending on quality cleaners to do the work. High pressure can no doubt damage vinyl siding, decks, roofs, and even certain types of cement and brick. Make sure you, or the contractor you hire, use the low pressure washing method.

Roof Cleaning Contractor

Welcome to the roof cleaning blog of Midwest Pro Wash. We are a roof cleaning contractor in Indiana providing low pressure roof cleaning services. We do something that is unique to the industry, we provide free information about roof cleaning to help educate home owners so they can make a more informed and intelligent decision when looking for roof cleaning services. Stay tuned and check in often for roof cleaning tips, information, and advise. Thanks again for visiting our roof cleaning blog.