How to Start a Pressure Washing Business

Part 1 - How to start a Pressure Washing business - Background

Pressure washing is more effective in removing dirt and grime than other methods of cleaning. This service is highly valued by customers who want to improve the appearance of the exterior of their home or building. Pressure washing helps extend the life of a building and its finishes.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Pressure Washing business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a pressure washing business?

The main startup up cost is leasing the pressure washing equipment and the transportation to take the equipment to work at the client’s premises. Transportation is usually a van with advertising of the company painted on the van to attract more customers when the van is in operation with the power washer. Having a physical facility, such as renting an office space or work space is not necessary unless you want to offer services of power washing to vehicles that are passing by on a main thoroughfare.

The basic expenses for starting this business include:

• Lease for power washing equipment and water tanks $2,000 down payment and $700 per month for the equivalent of $25,000 in equipment.
• Alternately, you could buy pressure washing equipment to for a larger upfront payment (which would save you money in the long run). Pressure washers range from a few hundred dollars to over $15,000. Consider which type of pressure washer you need to start your business.
• Lease for a commercial van that is fitted with the power washing equipment – $450 per month.
• Gasoline and vehicle maintenance $250 per month
• Advertising (flyers and business cards) – $200 per month

You will need to have good credit to get the leases for the equipment and the van, a few thousand dollars to get started for the down payment, plus enough to pay the lease payments for the first six months while you find customers. You can easily start this business with less than $10,000 in cash and finance the rest using credit. Your goals will be to generate $2,000 or more per month in paid jobs in order to create a sustainable business effort.

What are the ongoing expenses for a pressure washing business?

The ongoing expenses for this business include the labor cost for the workers, lease payments for the equipment and the van(s), insurance, and the amount allocated to the monthly marketing efforts.

Who is the target market?

Depending on the target market, the customers might be homeowners, vehicle owners, government agencies (which need pressure washing services for roads and other government buildings/structures), and/or commercial property owners. Most pressure washing businesses do better by offering their services to all types of customers and have workers that are experts in doing certain kinds of pressure washing. Besides seeking customers from the general public, it is advisable to get long-term contracts from commercial operations. Examples of these contracts would include maintaining the exteriors of multiple commercial properties owned by the same person or organization or cleaning a fleet of vehicles on a regular basis.

How does a pressure washing business make money?

Some of the most successful businesses in this sector have many repeat clients. For simple jobs like pressure washing a car, pressure washing businesses charge a flat rate of around $50 to $100, which includes “detailing.” Detailing is the finish work after the pressure cleaning is done. It includes waxing the vehicle and making the vehicle look like it is brand new.

Another mainstay in this business is the cleaning of the exterior surfaces of real estate. Power washing homes and commercial properties is very lucrative. You can charge by the square footage of the exterior surfaces that are cleaned.

How much can you charge customers?

Home advisor gives some examples of the range of prices for pressure washing a home. A typical homeowner will spend between $196 to $420 for a pressure washing of the home and its exterior surfaces.

Here are a few of the common prices:

• Exterior siding of a home – $100 to $300
• Driveway – $80 to $200
• Deck or patio – $250 to $500

Commercial properties pay $0.25 to $1.50 per square foot of exterior surface area. Higher rates are charged for buildings that are multiple stories and include the rental cost of the scaffolding or window washing equipment needed to reach the higher levels.

Cleaning a vehicle is around $50 to $100. Washing semi-trucks and boats would be about twice that amount.

How much profit can a pressure washing business make?

If you keep the equipment usage level high, you can expect to make at least 100% of the amount you pay for the equipment lease per month. For example, if the monthly lease payments for a van and equipment plus insurance are around $1,200 then you should earn at least $2,400 per month as your minimum goal. If your main customers are homeowners, you will be doing about 3 to 4 jobs per week to meet this minimum.

How can you make your business more profitable?

As an expansion of the pressure washing business, you can also offer pressure cleaning of drains, pipes, and sewage lines. The equipment is similar and the water pressure is very effective in clearing blocked pipes, blasting tree roots out of the way, and keeping sewer lines flowing.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a pressure washing business?

First and foremost, owners of this type of business pressure wash clients’ property. A business owner for a pressure washing company needs to maintain good relations with existing clients and constantly look for new ones. The goal of the business owner is to keep the appointments for the cleaning teams with a full calendar. The idea is to use the equipment and the teams as much as possible.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful pressure washing business?

It helps to have some mechanical knowledge and to be comfortable working with pressure washing equipment. The equipment needs to be maintained properly and can be dangerous to use if not handled correctly. A guide to pressure washer use and maintenance can be found here.

What is the growth potential for a pressure washing business?

The exciting thing about this business is that a person can start in one local area and then expand to offer similar services in other areas. There are franchise opportunities and a business can expand from a local market to a regional market and then go national.

How and when to build a team

This business starts with a single van. It can expand based on the demand for services and the expansion happens with one van with one new worker at a time. Usually, a single person can handle a job. Sometimes there is a need for two people. This means that to build up a team requires getting another van, the equipment, and hiring at least one new person, perhaps with an assistant.

It is easy to decide when to add another van. The decision comes from having the first van over-booked and turning away new customers. You do not want to invest in a second van too early, but you also want to be able to handle the demand for your services with enough staff and equipment to meet their needs.

Pressure washing equipment can be very dangerous. It is imperative when building a team, to hire employees who are certified and reliable. More information about certification can be found on the website of the Power Washers of North America.

Part 2 - Is a Pressure Washing business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Pressure Washing business in 90 days