Every surface,
the right method.

Right method: eco-safe detergents applied at low pressure, dwell time, gentle rinse. The chemistry kills algae and mildew at the root so the clean lasts, and the panels never take a hit.

Wrong method costs you: high pressure cracks brittle panels, blasts water up behind the laps where it breeds mold in the wall, and etches shiny wand marks into oxidized siding — damage most manufacturer warranties won't cover.

Right method: low-pressure detergent wash. Brick is porous — the cleaner soaks in, lifts the organic growth, and rinses out without disturbing the joints.

Wrong method costs you: a tight high-pressure stream gouges soft mortar joints and drives water deep into the brick face. In Nebraska's freeze-thaw winters, that trapped water pops the surface off the brick — called spalling, and it's permanent.

Right method: the gentlest wash on this page. Detergent does all the work at rinse-level pressure, because the textured finish coat is thinner than it looks.

Wrong method costs you: pressure chips the finish coat, opens hairline cracks wider, and on EIFS (synthetic stucco) can force water behind the foam layer — the exact failure mode that rots the sheathing underneath.

Right method: soft wash with a careful rinse. Clean siding is also the correct prep before repainting — paint bonds to clean fiber-cement and wood far better than to chalky, mildewed film.

Wrong method costs you: high pressure peels sound paint, furs up bare wood grain, and can bruise fiber-cement board edges. What looked like a cleaning bill becomes a repainting bill.

Right method: a walk-behind surface cleaner running high pressure in overlapping passes, with pre-treatment on oil and rust spots. That's how a driveway comes out one uniform shade instead of a zebra pattern.

Wrong method costs you: a rental wand held too close etches permanent lines into the concrete's cream layer — and once it's cut, no amount of washing evens it back out. Skipping the degreaser just spreads the oil stain thinner.

Right method: same surface-cleaner treatment as the driveway, plus edge detailing where grime collects against the lawn. Usually added to a driveway visit for a few dollars more, not a separate trip charge.

Wrong method costs you: wand-striping is even more visible on a narrow walkway than a driveway — every pass shows. Gum and rust need the right pre-treatment, not more pressure.

Right method: moderated pressure at a controlled angle that cleans the paver faces without excavating the joints. If joint sand does wash loose, the fix is re-sanding — we'll tell you before we start, not after.

Wrong method costs you: full pressure straight into the joints blows out the polymeric sand that locks the field together. Pavers then shift, settle and grow weeds — a re-leveling job that costs far more than the wash did.

Right method: reduced pressure with detergent assist. Sealed and colored concrete is a finished surface, not raw flatwork — the goal is to clean the sealer, not remove it.

Wrong method costs you: full pressure strips sealer in blotches, so the surface dries in two different sheens and the bare patches start absorbing stains immediately. On pool decks it also chews the textured grip that keeps wet feet from slipping.

Right method: deck-specific cleaner, dwell time, then a low-pressure rinse moving with the grain. It lifts the gray oxidation and mildew and leaves the boards ready to dry, and later stain or seal if you choose.

Wrong method costs you: concrete-level pressure furs the grain into fuzz, carves wand trenches across the boards, and shreds splinters loose. A sanded-and-restained repair costs multiples of what the wash did.

Right method: soft wash. Composite boards are a plastic-and-fiber cap over a core — detergents dissolve the grime and mold film, and a gentle rinse protects the embossed wood texture.

Wrong method costs you: most composite manufacturers cap the allowable pressure and distance in their warranty terms — blast it and you can void the coverage while permanently scarring the cap layer that can't be sanded back.

Right method: cleaner first, then low pressure panel by panel. Cedar and pine fencing responds beautifully — years of gray wash off and the original color comes back.

Wrong method costs you: fence pickets are thinner than deck boards, so excess pressure splits them outright. On vinyl fence, a close-up jet leaves permanent gloss burns and can pop rails out of their brackets.

Right method: when we wash a house we treat window zones as low-pressure territory — detergent and a soft rinse across the glass, frames and trim. Spot-free enough to shine, gentle enough to keep seals sealed.

Wrong method costs you: a pressure jet aimed at a window floods the weep holes, blows out glazing seals, and can crack the pane. A failed seal means a permanently fogged double-pane unit — replacement, not repair.

Right method: a soft-wash application that kills the Gloeocapsa magma algae causing those black streaks, then lets rain do the rinsing. The streaks fade as the dead growth weathers off — no machine ever touches the shingles.

Wrong method costs you: pressure strips the ceramic granules that are the shingle's entire sun-and-hail armor, ages the roof years in one afternoon, and voids virtually every shingle manufacturer's warranty. It's the most expensive washing mistake a homeowner can buy.

Right method: the black "tiger stripes" on gutter faces are oxidized finish bonded with road film — pressure alone will not remove them. We apply a gutter-brightening detergent and hand-agitate until the stripes release.

Wrong method costs you: cranking up the pressure dents aluminum gutter faces, blows sections out of their hangers, and still leaves the stripes — because the problem was chemical, never dirt.

Right method: surface-cleaner passes on the walkways, targeted treatment on gum and drink stains, and a careful low-pressure detail around door frames, glass and signage. Early morning or after close, so customers never walk through a work zone.

Wrong method costs you: careless pressure around an entry blasts water under door thresholds and peels vinyl signage and window decals — turning a cleanup into a claim.

Right method: the nastiest surface we clean, and the one that genuinely needs everything — heavy degreaser, dwell time, then full pressure to flush the buildup. Done on a schedule, it also controls the odors and pests that pads attract.

Wrong method costs you: a light rinse just relocates the grease film a few feet — the slip hazard, smell and health-inspection risk all stay put. This is a chemistry-plus-power job or it isn't done.