How Much to Charge for Pressure Washing: A Price Sheet and the Method Behind It

Most new pressure washing owners copy the cheapest price on Facebook, then wonder why they are working ten hours a day and still short on rent. Here is how to price so every job pays, with typical US rates to start from.

Step 1: know what an hour costs you

Add up a normal month of running the business:

• Truck payment, fuel and insurance
• Liability insurance
• Equipment payments, pump oil, nozzles, hose and repairs
• Chemicals: sodium hypochlorite, surfactant, rust and oil removers
• Phone, software, marketing and fees

Divide by the hours you actually work on site in a month. For many owner operators the real cost is $35 to $55 an hour before paying themselves. Add your own pay and a profit margin, and your target lands between $100 and $150 per working hour. With a helper, aim higher, since two people finish faster.

Step 2: price by the square foot

Customers do not want to hear about your hourly rate. They want a price for their driveway. The square foot is the fairest way to get there, because surface area drives time and chemical use. Typical US ranges for residential work:

• Concrete driveways and sidewalks: 15 to 30 cents a square foot
• House wash (soft wash): 10 to 25 cents per square foot of living area
• Roof soft wash, shingle or tile: 25 to 50 cents a square foot of roof
• Pool decks and patios: 18 to 35 cents a square foot
• Wood decks: 35 to 75 cents a square foot, more if you brighten or stain
• Paver cleaning and sealing: $1.50 to $3.00 a square foot
• Fences: $1 to $2 per linear foot per side

Large commercial flat work goes lower, 8 to 15 cents a square foot, because you run the surface cleaner for hours without moving the trailer.

Step 3: set a base price and a minimum

Every job has fixed time: driving, unloading, connecting water, pre-treating, packing up. Cover it with a base price per job, then add the square feet on top. A common setup is $150 base plus 15 cents a foot for driveways, so a 600 square foot driveway comes to about $240.

Set a trip minimum too, usually $150 to $200. A $90 sidewalk is not a job, it is a loss with a hose attached.

Step 4: check each job against your hourly target

Time yourself on your first ten jobs, from parking to leaving. A typical two-car driveway takes 60 to 75 minutes with a 20 inch surface cleaner, including pre-treat and rinse. At $240 that is right around $200 an hour. A one-story house wash of 2,000 square feet takes about two hours alone and should bring $400 to $500.

If a job type keeps landing under $100 an hour, raise that rate.

Step 5: charge for the extras

Most owners give away the work that takes longest. Price these separately:

• Rust stain removal: $100 to $200
• Oil stain treatment: $50 to $150 per spot
• Gum removal: $1 to $2 per piece, or a flat $75
• Gutter brightening (the black streaks on the outside): $100 to $150
• Screen enclosure or lanai wash: $150 to $250
• Sealing: priced by the square foot, never free

Step 6: bundle, do not discount

Instead of cutting your price, offer a bundle. House, driveway and sidewalk together at 10 percent off the total is still a bigger ticket than any of them alone, and you only set up once.

Quote fast or lose the job

Pressure washing is an impulse buy. The homeowner who got an HOA letter wants a price tonight. If you have to drive out to measure, the company that quoted first already has the job. Measuring the driveway on a satellite map takes two minutes; see how to measure a driveway and a house from the satellite map. Better still, let the customer do it on your site with an estimate calculator that uses your rates.

Raise prices once a year

Chemical and fuel costs go up every year. Raise your rates 5 to 8 percent each January and update your calculator the same day. Most customers never notice, and the ones who leave over $15 were not the customers you wanted.

For the details on the most common job, read what driveway pressure washing costs, and for houses, how to price a house wash.