Words: Daniel Check

One thing nearly all of Australia’s commercial buildings have in common is that, at some point, they’ll need a pressure wash. The high demand for these services has led to many new pressure washing businesses starting up.

As a professional pressure washer, I know that new operators in the industry are a positive for both clients and established professionals. But with more people entering the field, there’s also an increase in common mistakes. Avoiding these can help improve our industry’s reputation and attract more satisfied customers.

Avoid leaving streaks on surfaces

If you are pressure washing a building with powder-coated aluminum frames or glass, it is important that you remove the streaks left by the bleach in your pressure washer. These streaks seem like minor problems, but they take away from the professional look of the building you just cleaned. An abundance of streaks is often the reason why facility managers hire another pressure washing company to fix the old company’s work.

The technique for removing these streaks is a simple fix that goes a long way in making the building you wash look beautiful. Simply rinse the streaks and rub some lubricant on them, and they will go away. You can also use a secondary rinse product designed to neutralise bleach crystals to remove the streaks.

Use the right pressure

Applying too much pressure or standing too close to the building when operating a pressure washer can ruin the facility’s paint job or even break a window. Improper pressure washing can also damage other objects, such as cars, plants and other fixtures around the building.

The best way to avoid using too much pressure is to follow the soft wash method. This method uses a low-pressure nozzle on the end of the pressure washing wand and biodegradable chemicals such as bleach to remove stains, mold, pollen, dirt and moss while maintaining the integrity of the building surface.

The soft washing method cleans surfaces just as well as higher-pressure methods, but without the risk of damaging the building’s structure or paint. I recommend using the soft wash method on all commercial buildings and structures, with the exception of aged concrete or older fences. These surfaces usually require a higher water pressure to remove marks and stains on them.

Take responsibility for mistakes

Even the most experienced pressure washer professionals make mistakes from time to time. Most customers can forgive a mistake, but they cannot forgive a contractor who won’t admit to damaging property.

Never make the customer pay for your mistakes. This seems like an obvious statement, but far too often contractors don’t heed this advice.

As a professional, you want to overcommunicate with your customers and set expectations that the safety and security of their property is your priority. If water leaks into the interior of the building while you are pressure washing it, stop what you are doing until you can find a way to stop the leakage. If you can’t stop the leakage, let the client know and give them a refund.

Ethical work practice requires that you be willing to stop a job when things go wrong, even if you lose money.  If you make a mistake or break something on the property, let the client know what happened and commit to fixing it as soon as possible.  

It is essential in our industry to build relationships and goodwill with our customers. Doing so will ensure your power washing company receives referrals, making your business more successful and profitable.

About the author:

Daniel Check is the owner of Double Check Pressure Washing, a commercial and residential pressure washing company.

A version of this article appeared on CMM Online.

Photo by Antonio Lorenzana Bermejo on Pexels.