What a house wash is
The service most homeowners haven't bought yet
Most people who call us about a house wash open with the same confession: they are not totally sure what it is. Fair enough. A house wash is a soft wash of your home's entire exterior, every side, from under the gutters to the foundation line. Dirt, algae, mildew, cobwebs, wasp nests, construction dust, the gray film that slowly dulls your paint color: all of it comes off in a single 2 to 3 hour visit.
The part that surprises people is what a house wash is not. It is not pressure washing. Aiming real pressure at stucco or siding is how walls get etched, paint gets stripped, and water gets forced behind the siding. We have seen a pressure washer put a hole in a stucco wall. So the house never gets blasted. Instead, a diluted cleaning solution goes on at low pressure, sits and does the work, and rinses off gentler than a garden hose.
The method
How the soft wash works
Our crew applies a 1.5 to 2% sodium hypochlorite solution blended with a surfactant soap that helps it cling to the wall long enough to break down the growth. Before any of that, your plants, bushes, and grass get rinsed and protected, and they get rinsed again after. The wash moves top down, one side at a time, with the detergent never allowed to dry on the wall.
Every job starts with a walkthrough. We inspect all four sides with you, point out damage or oxidized paint before work begins, and finish with a second walkthrough where you flag anything to touch up. We make it right before we leave. Prefer no chemicals at all? We will wash with water only and be honest that the results will not match.
What it costs
House washing prices
Pricing is set by home size:
| Home size | Price range |
|---|---|
| Small (under 1,500 sq ft) | $300–$450 |
| Mid-size (1,500–2,500 sq ft) | $450–$700 |
| Large / two-story (2,500–3,500 sq ft) | $650–$1,000 |
Current as of July 2026.
Condition decides where a home lands in its bracket. Years of buildup can take more than one pass per side, and that labor pushes a quote toward the top. Bundle a driveway or patio cleaning or a solar panel cleaning with your house wash and save roughly 10%. The pressure washing cost calculator gives you an instant range, no email required.
How often
How often does a house need washing?
Every couple of years, for most homes. That is the honest answer, and we will not sell you a schedule you do not need. Homes near active construction collect dust faster, north-facing walls hold algae longer, and sprinkler overspray leaves stains sooner. The walkthrough tells us, and we tell you.
Where we wash
City pages with local detail
We serve Placer County and nearby communities across the greater Sacramento region. City-specific pricing and neighborhood details live on the local pages:
Granite Bay and Citrus Heights homeowners: same crew, same process. Reach out for a free estimate.
Common questions