Pricing, Payment and Guarantee Questions
How the published prices work, what you pay and when, deposits, and what the satisfaction guarantee and roof warranty actually cover.
Do you guarantee your work?
Yes, on two different timelines, because roof work does not finish on the same clock as everything else. On any surface other than a roof: if you are not satisfied with something we cleaned, tell us within 14 days and we will come back and re-clean it at no charge. Fourteen days rather than a week on purpose — most people do not look properly until the following weekend, and a rain in between makes anyone doubt the result. On roof soft washing: 60 days. A roof keeps improving for four to six weeks after the visit as the treated moss and lichen lose their grip and release with rain and weather. Judging a roof at two weeks would be judging it half-finished. If it has not come around within 60 days, it gets re-treated at no charge. What the guarantee does not cover is anything cleaning cannot correct: oxidized or chalked finishes, concrete scaling where the top layer has already broken loose, failed paint or stain, and rust with an active source still feeding it. Those get identified on the walkthrough and stated before any work begins, so nothing on that list is a surprise afterward.
Reviewed September 2026
Do you require a deposit?
Not on residential work. Exterior cleaning is same-day work with no materials to buy in advance, so there is nothing to fund before starting — you pay once it is done and you have seen the result. On projects at or above $1,000 there is a right to ask for a deposit of up to 25% to hold a date, which is rare in practice and would always be discussed before it appeared on an estimate. Any deposit is credited against the final invoice.
Reviewed September 2026
Does a re-clean under the guarantee cost anything?
No. If a surface inside the agreed scope was missed or came out uneven, the return visit and the re-clean are free. The remedy under the guarantee is re-cleaning rather than a refund, which is the standard across the trade and keeps the promise to something that can actually be delivered — a second pass on the surface that was not right.
Reviewed September 2026
How does payment work?
Payment terms are set out with your written estimate before any work begins, and you receive an itemized invoice for the completed scope so you can see exactly what you paid for. Recurring commercial and property-management accounts are invoiced on an agreed schedule rather than job by job. Ask about accepted payment methods when you request the estimate so nothing is a surprise on the day of service.
What payment methods do you accept?
Cash, check, and credit or debit cards. Card payment can be taken at the property when the work is finished, so there is no waiting for an invoice to arrive if you would rather settle on the day. Full card numbers are never stored on this website.
Reviewed September 2026
When do I pay for the work?
Payment is due when the job is finished. You get an itemized invoice showing what was done and what each part cost, and you can settle it on the spot or from the invoice. Larger commercial projects can be set up on Net 30 terms instead, and recurring commercial and property-management accounts are invoiced on an agreed schedule rather than job by job.
Reviewed September 2026
Are paver drives cleaned differently than the poured concrete ones?
Yes, and the difference is joint sand. Drives here are a mix of poured concrete and pavers on lots running from roughly a third of an acre to well over an acre, so this is measured work rather than a flat price. On poured concrete we use surface-cleaner passes at a pressure the slab can take. On pavers we work in controlled passes specifically to limit how much joint sand we pull out, and if the joints will need re-sanding afterward we tell you that up front rather than after — re-sanding is a normal part of maintaining a paver drive, not a sign something went wrong. Sealing, on either surface, is a follow-up once things are clean and fully dry.
Can I get a price without an appointment?
Yes. Most residential pricing comes from your home's square footage, which is public record on the county auditor listing, so a number can be given from your address alone. Photos help for anything unusual — heavy staining, a surface you are unsure about, or work that is not on the standard list. The walkthrough is still worth doing before the job, but it confirms the method, the access and the exact scope rather than producing the price.
Can you clean a vinyl or wood fence?
Yes. Vinyl, wood and composite fencing all collect green algae and mildew on the shaded side, and it comes off with a low-pressure wash and a solution matched to the material. Wood is worked with the grain so boards are not furred up, and old stain or paint that is already failing will not survive a wash — that gets identified before starting rather than discovered during. Fence work is quoted per property rather than from a published table, because run length, height and both-sides access vary too much to band sensibly.
Reviewed September 2026
Can you clean my patio furniture while you are doing the patio?
Yes, and it is the sensible time to do it since everything has to come off the patio anyway. Patio and outdoor furniture and equipment cleaning is $79 and covers furniture, swing sets, grills and similar outdoor items, cleaned at a pressure and solution matched to the material. Cushions and fabric are not included — this is hard surfaces: frames, tables, slides, plastic and metal.
Reviewed September 2026
Do you charge more for a two-story house?
No. One price covers the house at that size, whether it is one story or two. A home up to 1,500 square feet is $299 either way, and 2,000 square feet is $349 either way — you read your price off the table without doing arithmetic or wondering which column applies to you. A second story does take longer and needs more reach, and that is already built into the size-based price rather than added on top. Genuine difficulty does carry an add-on: a third story, or an elevation that cannot be worked from the ground. Anything like that is identified while the property is walked and stated before the work starts, never added afterward.
Reviewed September 2026
Do you clean windows as part of a house wash?
Not automatically — window cleaning is its own service. A house wash rinses the exterior of the house including the glass, so windows usually look better afterward, but that is a rinse rather than a clean and it can leave spotting as it dries. Proper exterior window cleaning is $10 per window and includes a sill wipe-down. Added to a house wash there is no minimum; booked on its own there is a $149 minimum visit.
Reviewed September 2026
Do you come out to Carrollton and the rest of Carroll County?
Yes. Carrollton and the surrounding Carroll County communities are a regular run from Canton, covering downtown storefronts and small commercial exteriors as well as farmhouse washing, porches, and driveway and concrete cleaning. Rural properties there often mean longer drives and gravel-to-concrete transitions, which we account for in the estimate. Send the address with a description and clear photos and we can usually get you a preliminary quote before we ever drive out.
Do you offer concrete sealing as a follow-up service?
Yes. Sealing a driveway, patio, or walkway after cleaning helps protect the surface from staining, moisture, and future buildup. Sealed concrete typically stays protected longer than unsealed concrete — up to about 3 years depending on traffic and exposure — so it's worth asking about when you request a quote.
Do you really travel to the outer cities, or mostly stay near Canton?
We travel. Cleveland, Solon, Youngstown, Mansfield, and Dover are regular work rather than exceptions. Because they are a longer drive, jobs in those directions are scheduled as full days or grouped with other work heading the same way, so there is a little less flexibility on exact dates. Larger and multi-surface scopes are the easiest to fit at that distance. Ask when you request the estimate and we will give you a realistic window.
How long before black streaks come back after a roof cleaning?
They should not come back for years, and there is a warranty on it. Black streaking is algae, and a soft wash kills it at the root rather than rinsing it off the surface. If black streaking returns on a full roof soft washing within two years, the affected area is re-treated at no charge. Two conditions are excluded because they re-seed growth continuously no matter how well the roof was cleaned: heavy overhanging tree cover, and areas where water pools rather than draining. Both get pointed out before the work rather than after.
Reviewed September 2026
How long do I have to tell you if something is not right?
Fourteen days on any surface except a roof, and 60 days on roof soft washing. The roof window is longer because a treated roof keeps improving for four to six weeks as dead moss and lichen release with rain and wind — judging it at two weeks would be judging it half-finished. Either way the fix is a return visit to re-clean the area at no charge.
Reviewed September 2026
How much does service cost?
We publish our prices. The pricing page carries a table for every residential service, with a price for each size of home rather than one starting figure — find your home's square footage and you have your number. Access, condition, material and total scope can move a job above its band, and when they do that is confirmed with you in writing before any work begins. No hidden fees and no surprise upcharges on the day of service.
I have a long driveway and outbuildings near Hartville. Do you handle that kind of property?
Yes. Larger properties with long concrete drives, gravel-to-concrete transitions, outbuilding aprons, and open exposure are common around Hartville, and they are quoted by measured area and condition rather than as a flat house-and-drive package. Open exposure and nearby fields usually mean more organic staining on roofs and siding and more tracked soil on the concrete. On a property that size the walkthrough covers all of it, because the outbuildings and the drive are usually where the surface area actually is.
I have outbuildings and a gravel-to-concrete transition on my property. Can you clean those?
Yes, and they are priced as their own item because they are a different job than the house. Farm-adjacent properties bring outbuilding slabs and gravel-to-concrete transitions that need degreasing rather than a rinse — fuel, equipment traffic and ground-in grime do not respond to the solution we would use on a front walk. The 2000s houses on the edges of town are the concrete-heavy jobs in the other direction: big driveways, aprons and patio slabs where organic growth and tire traffic show quickly on relatively young concrete. Our walk-through covers the whole parcel, not just the house.
I manage several properties. Can exterior cleaning be handled as one program?
Yes. For managed portfolios we document service zones, priorities, access instructions, operating restrictions, and recommended frequency so the plan is repeatable across buildings and visits instead of re-explained every time. Entries, walkways, breezeways, dumpster pads, and service areas are usually the recurring items, with heavier work scheduled seasonally. Recurring accounts are invoiced on an agreed schedule, and certificates of insurance are provided on request.
Reviewed September 2026
Is a two-story house more expensive to wash than a ranch?
Not here. The price is set by the square footage of the home, so a 2,000 square foot two-story and a 2,000 square foot ranch are both $349. A second story does mean taller walls and more reach, and that is already built into the size-based price rather than added on top. The number you look up — your home's square footage from the county auditor — reflects the size of the job well enough on its own, and a second variable would only make your price harder to work out for yourself. Genuinely hard access, such as a third story or an elevation that cannot be reached from the ground, carries an add-on that is stated before the work starts.
Reviewed September 2026
Is gutter cleaning included with a house wash or roof cleaning?
It depends which of the three you mean, and they get mixed up constantly. Gutter cleaning is the outside face of the gutter and downspout — what you see from the street. That is part of every house wash and siding cleaning at no extra charge. A gutter clean-out is the inside: the packed leaves and shingle grit in the trough, and every downspout flushed to confirm it actually runs. This is a real service with a real per-linear-foot price, and it is free with roof soft washing. Not discounted — included. We cannot rinse a roof properly if the gutters will not drain, and leaving the debris up there would only wash it back over everything we just cleaned, so it is part of the job rather than an add-on to it. If you were going to book a clean-out anyway and the roof is anywhere near due, booking the roof gets you both for the price of the roof. You can also book a gutter clean-out on its own, with no washing service attached. That is the standalone service and it is priced per linear foot. Gutter brightening is the third and it is never included in anything. The dark vertical tiger striping on the front face is oxidized aluminum and road film bonded to the finish, not dirt sitting on top of it. It needs its own product, no house wash removes it, and it is usually added after a house wash while the crew is already on site.
Is our patio and pool surround part of a house wash or a separate job?
Separate, and priced that way. The Canterbury-era estates carry the heaviest hardscape load anywhere in Hudson — patios, covered outdoor living areas, pergolas, outdoor fireplaces, built-in grills, in-ground pool surrounds and stone elevations. That is stone-and-masonry cleaning rather than house washing: different solutions, different pressure, joint-safe technique, and considerably more time on site. Bundling it into a house-wash number would either overprice the house or underprice the hardscape. So the estimate breaks them out and you can take either one on its own.
Is there a current offer or discount?
Yes. Book a house wash and a roof soft washing together and the driveway cleaning is free — up to a two-car driveway, about 700 square feet. If your driveway is longer than that, the first 700 square feet are still free and only the remainder is priced by area. It applies to the same property on the same visit, one per property per calendar year, and it does not combine with other discounts. Sealing, oil and rust stain treatment, and paver joint sanding are not part of it. The reason those two services are the condition: the roof drains onto the walls, so doing them on one visit is the right order anyway and it is one setup instead of two. Some neighborhoods have their own offer, printed in a local publication and different from this one — usually easier to qualify for. If you live somewhere with a resident offer, that one applies to you.
My 1977 colonial needs everything. Where should I start?
Roof first, then siding, then concrete — because each one drains onto the next. A colonial of that era in Solon typically means two full stories of siding, a steep roof with multiple planes, and a driveway poured around the same time. The roof is soft washed at height without touching the shingle. The sun-facing walls are usually chalked and need oxidation treatment rather than a wash. And a drive that has held nearly fifty winters of road salt is surface cleaning with stain treatment. Three different methods, three different outcomes, and most owners take them across two seasons.
Learn More — what siding oxidation is and why pressure washing won't fix it
My Dover porch has painted railings and old decking. How is that cleaned?
As deck-safe treatment, and as its own service rather than part of a house wash. Porches are the constant in Dover — wood decking, painted railings and a century of foot traffic, which means worn paint, softened wood and fasteners that have been in the weather a long time. Pressure on any of that lifts paint and raises grain, so it is low pressure with a solution suited to painted wood. We inspect the decking and railings first and tell you where cleaning would take off paint that is already letting go, because that turns a cleaning into a repainting job you did not budget for.
My Glenmoor house is brick on the front and stucco on the sides. Is that one wash or two?
One visit, two methods. Houses here were built from 1991 onward and mixed elevations are the norm rather than the exception — brick running into stucco running into a frame gable on the same wall. Those surfaces do not take the same solution or the same pressure, and stucco in particular will hold a cleaning solution far longer than brick will, so a single blanket approach either undercleans the brick or overworks the stucco. Each material on the elevation gets its own method and its own line, because a number that does not name the materials cannot account for the difference between them.
My Hudson HOA covers exterior upkeep. Do I still need this?
It depends on your subdivision. Association structures vary a lot here: Connecticut Colony and Weston Hills carry annual fees, the Villas of Hudson carry a monthly fee that covers exterior upkeep, and Woods of Western Reserve has no mandatory association at all. Check your association documents first — if exterior cleaning is already contracted, it is covered. Where an association sets an appearance expectation but does not perform the work, the practical standard is matching the rest of the row rather than how your own house looked last year.
My roof still has some streaks a week after you cleaned it. Did it not work?
Almost certainly it did, and this is the single most common question about roof work. Algae rinses away relatively quickly. Moss and lichen do not — they anchor into the shingle surface, so they are killed rather than removed, and then they release gradually over roughly four to six weeks as rain and weather work the dead growth loose. A roof one week out is partway through that, not finished. Scraping or pressure-washing them off instead would take shingle granules with them, and granules are the roof's UV protection. That trade — a faster result for a shorter roof life — is not one worth making, and every major shingle manufacturer specifies against it. The guarantee is built around that timeline: 60 days on roof soft washing rather than the 14 that applies elsewhere. If the roof has not come around by then, it gets re-treated at no charge.
Reviewed September 2026
My siding looks dull on the sunny side but fine in the shade. Why?
Two different problems on one house. The sun-facing elevations have oxidized — the vinyl finish itself has broken down into a dull, chalky layer, which is why a rinse wets it and it dries back looking the same. That needs oxidation treatment, not washing. The shaded planes, usually the roof, hold moisture and grow algae, which is organic and releases with a soft wash. The 1990s and 2000s Medina subdivisions are almost entirely vinyl siding with asphalt shingle, which is the pairing where this split shows up most.
Learn More — what siding oxidation is and why pressure washing won't fix it
My siding looks washed out and my roof has dark streaks. Same problem?
No — and treating them the same is why a standard wash sometimes disappoints. Washed-out siding on a Northwest Akron split-level or Cape Cod is usually oxidation: the painted or aluminum finish has broken down, so a rinse wets it and it dries back to the same dull grey. That needs oxidation treatment. The dark streaking on the roof is a living organism growing on the plane facing the tree line, and it releases with a low-pressure soft wash. One is a finish problem and one is a growth problem, and they are identified before anything is applied.
Learn More — what siding oxidation is and why pressure washing won't fix it
Our newer Wooster house has a long driveway. Is young concrete worth cleaning?
Yes, and usually sooner than people think. Newer large-lot builds at Deer Creek and Ashton Village put the emphasis on concrete — long drives, wide aprons, walkways and patios — and light, relatively young concrete shows organic growth and staining early, because the surface is still pale and tight enough that anything on it reads clearly. Cleaning it early is also easier and cheaper than letting growth establish. We measure the actual square footage on the walk-through rather than estimating from the street, since a long drive and a wide apron are the whole cost on a property like that.
The inside of my gutters is full but the outside looks fine. Do I need a house wash?
No — you can book the gutter clean-out on its own, with no washing service attached. That is a standalone service priced per linear foot. It is worth doing on its own schedule too. Packed debris holds water against the fascia board, and a trough heavy with wet leaves is what pulls fasteners out of the fascia over a winter. One thing worth knowing before you book it alone: roof soft washing includes the clean-out at no additional charge. If the roof is anywhere near due, the roof wash and the clean-out together cost the same as the roof wash by itself. If the roof is genuinely fine, book the clean-out on its own and we will do exactly that. If the outside face of the gutter is also chalky or streaked dark, that is a third thing again — gutter brightening — and it is worth looking at the front face from the driveway before deciding what to book.
The moss is still on my roof a week after cleaning. Did it not work?
It worked — moss and lichen do not disappear on the day. The treatment kills the organism at the root, and the dead growth then releases gradually as rain and wind work on it, typically over four to six weeks depending on how heavy it was. Black algae staining lifts much faster and is usually visibly better within days. The reason it is done this way rather than scraped or blown off is that the dead growth is still gripping shingle granules, and forcing it loose early takes those granules with it.
Learn More — what black streaks, moss, and lichen actually do to a roof
What does window cleaning cost?
Exterior glass is $10 per window and includes a sill wipe-down. Interior glass is $8 per window as an add-on, available alongside exterior cleaning, and someone needs to be home for it. Track and sill detailing is $4 per window, screen washing is $4 per screen, and solar panels are $12 per panel. A $149 minimum applies to a standalone window visit; booked with a house wash there is no minimum.
Reviewed September 2026
What happens if I’m not satisfied with a spot after you leave?
Tell us right away and we come back and look at it. If something inside the agreed scope was missed or came out uneven, we return and address it. If the marking is something cleaning was never going to remove — a deeply absorbed stain, etching, or damage that was hidden under the dirt — we explain what it actually is instead of washing the same area harder and risking the surface. We try to flag those areas during the estimate so expectations are set before the first pass.
What is not covered by the guarantee?
Anything cleaning cannot correct. Oxidized or chalked finishes, concrete scaling where the top layer has already broken loose, failed paint or stain, and rust that still has an active source feeding it are all conditions that exist before the wash and survive it. Those get identified during the walkthrough and stated before any work begins, so nothing on that list turns up as a surprise afterward.
Reviewed September 2026
What is the difference between gutter cleaning, a gutter clean-out and gutter brightening?
Three different jobs on the same piece of metal. Gutter cleaning is the outside face of the gutter and downspout. It comes with a house wash or a siding cleaning at no extra cost. A gutter clean-out is interior work: removing packed leaves, shingle grit and sediment from inside the trough, then flushing each downspout to confirm water runs through it. It is included free with roof soft washing, because roof work puts debris into the gutters by design. It is also sold on its own, priced per linear foot, with no other service required. Gutter brightening removes the dark vertical striping bonded to the front face, often called tiger striping. That is oxidized aluminum and road film chemically stuck to the finish, so it needs a dedicated product and will not come off with house wash solution. It is never included in a house wash. A quick way to tell what you need: if the inside is full, you need a clean-out. If the outside is streaked dark, you need brightening. If neither, the cleaning that comes with your wash is enough.
Which surfaces on my house actually need cleaning first?
On a Louisville subdivision house, usually the drive and the roof before the siding. The asphalt shingle roof streaks on the shaded plane and is soft washed, never pressured. The vinyl or aluminum siding chalks and oxidizes on the sun side, which is an oxidation treatment rather than a wash and can often hold another season. And the wide concrete drives and aprons here hold road salt through spring, which is both the most visible surface and the one that degrades if it is left.
Learn More — what siding oxidation is and why pressure washing won't fix it
Why do exterior cleaning quotes vary so much?
Price follows scope: surface type and area, condition and staining, access and height, how much prep and protection the site needs, containment and wastewater requirements, and which add-ons are included, such as sealing, walkways, or gutters. Two quotes on the same house can differ simply because they cover different work, so compare the itemized lines rather than the bottom number. Our estimates spell out what is included specifically so you can see what you are comparing.
Will cleaning void my shingle warranty?
Not when it is done by the method the manufacturers themselves specify. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association is explicit that a pressure washer should never be used on an asphalt shingle roof because it causes granule loss and can lead to premature failure — and GAF publishes the same warning in its own technical bulletin. What they do endorse is chemical treatment at low pressure, after which growth loosens over time and can be removed with a leaf blower. Pressure is what creates a warranty problem. Soft washing is the method written into the guidance.
Learn More — what black streaks, moss, and lichen actually do to a roof