If you’re looking for a Commercial Building Pressure Washing soloution, you might be tempted to do-it-yourself (DIY) to save money and/or avoid the hassle of searching for and vetting pressure washing companies.

Unfortunately, the “DIY” approach to power washing is surprisingly risky, and it could lead to mushrooming costs for the project, injuries, and a job not very well done. When it comes to commercial pressure washing, it’s best to leave it up to the professionals, and here’s why:

1. Many building structures are delicate: you must calibrate your technique accordingly. Consider stucco, for instance. Stucco walls are beautiful, but dirt, rust and other residue can accrue on the stucco and make it look disgusting. If you take a brute force approach to pressure washing the stucco, you could clean the walls but wind up scouring the surface and destroying it. Professionals know how to approach situations to minimize damage to structures.
2. The DIY approach leads to surprisingly diverse hidden costs. First of all, if you don’t already own a pressure washer, you will need to rent one or buy one, which can be pretty pricey, especially if you’re only doing a one time job. Secondly, if you get paid on an hourly wage, you will have to sacrifice several hours of your billable time (or your employees’ time) to do the work. Also, on the off chance that you don’t do a thorough enough job, you will have to hire a company to do the job later anyway!
3. You may be putting yourself, your employees and your community at risk. Your local city and residential area probably have strict laws regarding how you can dispose of wastewater from projects like power pressure washing. If you violate those laws and ordinances, you can be fined or worse. Also, what if you hurt your back while operating the machine? Or what if an employee hurts his back and then makes a workers’ compensation claim?
4. You might solve the problem once, but it’s going to come up again. The second law of thermodynamics is inevitable: dirt and grime are just a fact of life. A building pressure washing company can help you identify problem spots and make recommendations that will help your building stay cleaner, longer. You really want a systematic solution to your building cleaning problems — and that means “going pro.”