House washing day: how to prepare and what happens from arrival to final walkthrough

What the day looks like, in brief

A professional house wash usually takes a few hours. Before the crew arrives, you close windows and doors, move outdoor items away from the walls and tell the company about any leaky windows. On the day, the technician texts on the way, walks the property with you if you are home, protects plants and fixtures, then pre-wets, treats and rinses each wall before a final walkthrough. You do not need to be home as long as the exterior is accessible.

At Park Cities Power Wash this is the part of the job customers ask about most, usually because they are worried about plants, pets, windows or being stuck at home all day. None of that should be a worry if the company has a routine and tells you what it is. Here is ours, step by step, and what you can do to make the visit go smoothly.

Before you book: what to tell the company

The best visits start with a good description. When you call, text or fill out the form, tell us what the exterior is made of, roughly how large the house is, and anything that makes access harder, such as a locked side gate, a steep back slope or a pool against the wall. Photos of each side help a lot, and simple jobs can be quoted from them or from satellite imagery. New customers and complex properties get an in-person look.

Mention anything delicate up front. Our house washing page lists the things we want to know before the day: leaky windows, custom paint or dark siding, older or fragile materials, and sensitive plants. Each one changes how we set up, and none of them is a reason not to wash the house. I explain how the quote itself is built in what a house wash costs and what moves the price.

• Exterior materials: stone, stucco, brick, painted siding, Hardie board, metal.
• Approximate size and number of stories.
• Access issues: gates, slopes, tight side yards, pools.
• Leaky windows or doors you already know about.
• Custom or dark paint, older materials and plants you care about.

Your prep checklist for the night before

Our house washing page asks for three things: close all windows and doors, remove outdoor items, and tell us in advance about any leaky windows. Those cover most of what matters. The rest of this list simply saves time on the day and keeps your belongings dry.

If you water on a timer, consider skipping the cycle that morning so the walls and beds are not already soaked and the solution is not diluted. Check that the outdoor faucets work, since crews often connect to the home's outdoor supply; if you do not have one, say so in advance. If a gate needs a code or a key, leave it where we can reach it or send it with your confirmation.

• Close every window and door, including garage doors near the walls you want cleaned.
• Move patio furniture, grills, planters, toys and decorations away from the house.
• Tell us about leaky windows so we can place towels and limit water there.
• Unlock gates and park cars away from the walls and driveway.
• Plan to keep pets and children indoors while we work.
• Check that outdoor faucets turn on and are not leaking.

Arrival and the walk-around

You will receive a text when the technician is on the way, so you are not watching the street all morning. If you are home, the technician walks the property with you before starting. This is the moment to point out the wall that bothers you most, the plants you are attached to, a window that has leaked before, or a spot where an earlier cleaning left damage you want noted.

Then the crew sets up. Our house washing page notes that doorbells, security cameras and exterior electrical outlets are covered, and that plants are pre-wet and covered before any solution is applied. Our homepage adds that job areas are protected and marked, which matters if you have neighbors walking by or children who want to watch from the window.

While setting up, a good technician is also looking at the house itself: cracked caulk around windows, a loose downspout, a gap in the stucco, paint that is already lifting. Those are not things a wash can fix, and spraying near them carelessly can make them worse. If we notice something like that, we will point it out and adjust how we work around it, so you are not surprised by it later.

Wash, treat, rinse: the work itself

Our method is a three-step soft wash. First, a low-pressure rinse pre-wets the siding. Second, a solution of sodium hypochlorite and surfactant is applied, with the concentration and dwell time adjusted to the material and the paint. Third, a low-pressure, high-volume rinse carries it all away, and the treatment is repeated on any area where buildup remains.

The adjustments are where experience shows. Porous Austin stone, cast stone and limestone get a mix that lifts organic growth without harming the surface. Stucco and painted wood get strength and dwell time matched to their condition. On paint that is not compatible with the solution, our house washing page notes the chemical step may be skipped, and custom or dark finishes can get a test area first. Oxidation on metal or Hardie board is a separate treatment with its own chemical and scrubbing, quoted on its own.

• Low-pressure pre-wet of the walls and nearby plants.
• Cleaning solution applied at low pressure, matched to each surface.
• Dwell time so the solution can kill growth at the root.
• Low-pressure, high-volume rinse, repeated where needed.
• Plants rinsed again and treated with a neutralizer.

Plants, pets, pools and windows while we work

Landscaping is the most common worry, and it is a fair one, because the same solution that kills algae can stress plants if nobody manages it. That is why our process pre-wets plants, covers them and treats them with a neutralizer afterward. If you have something unusually delicate, tell us during the walk-around and we will take extra care around it.

Pets and children should stay indoors during the cleaning. If you have leaky windows, our house washing page explains that we place towels inside, minimize water near the problem areas and dry any water that does get in, then check for damage. If you are home, keep doors closed near the walls being washed until the rinse is complete.

If the roof is part of the job

When the roof is included, it usually comes first, because runoff from the roof carries growth and grime down onto the gutters and walls. Our roof cleaning page describes a touchless soft wash, with tile, slate and metal never walked on, and runoff onto plants and painted surfaces neutralized before the final walkthrough.

Timing matters for anything that follows. Our roof page recommends waiting 24 to 48 hours after a roof cleaning before other exterior work such as window cleaning or painting, so the roof can dry and runoff can settle. If you are washing the house ahead of a repaint, ask your painter how long they want after the wash, and check whether any peeling areas need attention first. A painter's view of that is in what peeling, chalking exterior paint means.

Rain, wind and the Texas calendar

Our house washing page notes that we wash year-round and in most Dallas conditions. We reschedule only when rain or wind would affect the result or safety, and we tell you in advance. Wind is the bigger concern, because it carries spray where it should not go, toward cars, neighbors' windows and plants that were not covered.

Light rain after a wash is rarely a problem; the solution has already done its work and been rinsed off. Heavy storms on the day are a different matter. If you have a deadline, such as listing photos or a family event, say so when you book so we can leave room for weather.

Your final walkthrough and the days after

When the work is done, the technician walks the property with you, or sends an invoice, a follow-up and photos if you were out. Look at the walls in daylight from a few angles, especially the shaded sides and the areas under sills and eaves where growth was heaviest. Some faint staining can show up more clearly once the stone dries, so take another look the next day.

Our homepage notes that homeowners receive post-cleaning instructions, and the essentials are simple. Keep pets inside until the surfaces are rinsed and dry. Give the patio and walks time to dry before anyone walks on them barefoot, because wet stone and concrete are slick. Turn the sprinklers back on once the beds have dried out, and hold off on any painting or sealing until the surfaces are completely dry.

If anything is not right, tell us. Our homepage states a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and a return within 24 hours, and our house washing page notes that missed spots are fixed at no charge. To keep the house looking this way longer, see how often to wash the house, roof, gutters and windows. And if you are still comparing companies, the questions to ask before hiring will show you whether another crew follows a routine like this one. We work on homes within about 30 miles of Dallas, and we will send the prep list with your confirmation.

Questions people ask me