Every week we get calls from Metro Vancouver homeowners asking us to “pressure wash the house.” It makes sense — that’s the phrase everyone knows. But here’s the thing: if a company actually points a pressure washer at your siding, you should send them home. Washing a house and pressure washing a surface are two different jobs, done with different equipment, and mixing them up is how vinyl siding gets cracked, paint gets stripped, and water gets driven in behind the walls.
What house washing actually is
House washing — often called soft washing — uses low pressure, roughly the strength of a garden hose, combined with a cleaning solution that does the real work. The solution breaks down the green algae, dirt film, spider webs, and organic growth that build up on siding, and then everything is rinsed off gently from the ground or a ladder.
The pressure is the point. Vinyl, Hardie board, stucco, and painted wood are all designed to shed rain — not to withstand a 3,000 PSI jet at close range. High pressure can crack siding, blast water up behind panels where it can’t dry, etch lines into stucco, and turn peeling paint into a much bigger problem. Low pressure plus the right solution gets the siding cleaner, and it stays clean longer because the growth is actually killed instead of just knocked off the surface.
What pressure washing is for
Real pressure washing belongs on hard horizontal surfaces: concrete driveways, sidewalks, paver patios, stone steps, and retaining walls. Those surfaces can take the force, and they need it — moss, black algae, and ground-in grime bond hard to concrete, and in our climate they make sidewalks and steps genuinely slippery by November.
A proper exterior cleaning visit usually combines both: soft washing for the siding, gutters’ exteriors, and trim, then pressure washing for the driveway and walkways. That’s why we quote them as separate line items — they’re separate jobs.
Why Metro Vancouver homes need washing more often than most
Our climate is basically a greenhouse for algae. Long wet winters, mild temperatures, and tree cover mean the north and east sides of most homes in Surrey, Langley, and Vancouver start showing green within a couple of years. If you can see a green or grey film on your siding, that’s living growth — and it holds moisture against the wall, which shortens the life of paint and caulking.
A good rule of thumb for the Lower Mainland: wash the house every 2–3 years, or yearly if your home sits under trees or faces a greenbelt. It’s also the single highest-impact thing you can do before selling — a washed house photographs years newer.
What a professional house wash includes
- All siding, washed top to bottom with low pressure and a cleaning solution matched to the surface
- Soffits, fascia, and gutter exteriors (the black streaks on gutters are oxidation and need their own treatment)
- Window frames and trim rinsed clean
- Plants and garden beds around the house pre-soaked with water before we start and rinsed again after, so the cleaning solution never sits on them
That last point matters: ask any company you hire how they protect your landscaping. The honest answer involves water and timing, not magic chemicals.
FAQ
Will house washing damage my plants?
We pre-soak all surrounding plants and beds with plain water before washing and rinse them again afterwards, which dilutes any overspray before it can sit on the leaves. It’s a process thing — done in the right order, your garden is fine.
How much does a house wash cost?
It depends on the size of the home, the height, and how much growth has built up. We’ve put together a full local breakdown in our house washing cost guide for Vancouver.
Can I just rent a pressure washer and do it myself?
For a concrete pad, sure. For siding, a rented machine with no soft-wash setup is exactly the tool that causes the damage described above — and ladder work over landscaping with a live wand is no joke. This is one of the few jobs where the pro route is genuinely safer for the house.
How long does it take?
Most single-family homes take two to four hours. You don’t need to be home — we just need outside tap access.
Not sure which service your place needs? Send us a photo or grab a fast online quote — we’ll tell you straight whether it’s a house wash, a pressure wash, or both.
