What's covered
- Driveways & walkways — concrete and pavers
- Decks & patios — wood, composite, concrete, or paver surfaces
- Siding — vinyl, wood, and fiber cement
- Fences & retaining walls — wood and masonry
What about roofs?
Roofs need a lot less pressure than concrete, siding, or decking — a standard setting that's fine on a driveway will strip the granule coating off asphalt shingles if it's used on a roofline. That's handled as its own service, dialed down to what shingles can actually take. See how roof cleaning is done.
Getting the technique right, surface by surface
"Pressure washing" gets used as a catch-all term, but the right PSI varies a lot by material — too much pressure doesn't just clean faster, it does real damage:
- Concrete & pavers — can generally handle standard pressure, up to around 2,500-3,000 PSI with a wide fan tip. Unsealed pavers need to stay lower, around 1,500-2,000 PSI, to avoid washing out the joints.
- Wood decking — needs to stay low, roughly 500-1,500 PSI depending on how soft the wood is, always with a wide fan tip held well back. Too much pressure gouges the fibers and ruins the surface's ability to hold new stain or sealant.
- Vinyl siding — a soft-wash job, typically 60-150 PSI. High pressure can force water behind the panels — trapping moisture that leads to mold and rot — or crack the vinyl outright.
- Fiber cement siding (Hardie board) — James Hardie's own cleaning guidelines cap it under 1,500 PSI with a wide fan tip and the nozzle held 6+ feet back. Their real preference is a soft brush and garden hose over pressure washing at all.
- Wood siding & fences — same low-pressure logic as decking. High pressure fuzzes the wood fibers and drives water into seams and joints, which speeds up rot instead of preventing it.
Why it's more than a look
Moss and algae sitting on a surface isn't just cosmetic. Trapped moisture underneath organic growth is a real contributor to wood rot and to paint or sealant failure over time — the surface stays damp longer than it should, and that adds up. There's also a genuine safety angle: a peer-reviewed study on algae-covered pavement confirmed that the mucilage algae produces measurably increases how slippery a surface gets when wet. That's a real, documented hazard on a shaded walkway or set of steps, not just a talking point.
Why this matters more in the South Sound
Mild, wet winters and a lot of shade from fir and cedar cover give moss and algae a long stretch of the year to take hold here, especially on north-facing walls, shaded decks, and anything under tree cover. Surfaces that would dry out quickly in a sunnier climate stay damp a lot longer here — which is exactly the setup organic growth needs.
What it costs
I'll be straight with you: there isn't solid public pricing data specific to this area, so I won't pretend otherwise with a made-up "Tacoma rate." As a general starting point, driveways typically run $0.20-0.55 per square foot, decks and patios often land around $100-250 for a smaller deck, siding runs roughly $0.10-0.50 per square foot depending on size and material, and fences typically run $0.25-0.50 per square foot. A whole-exterior package (house, driveway, walkway, patio) commonly falls in the $450-1,200+ range. Every home is different — you'll get a real number after I've actually looked at what needs to be done.
How often you actually need it
Most surfaces do fine on roughly an annual schedule. Shaded, tree-covered, or north-facing areas that stay damp longer often need it closer to every six months to keep moss and algae from getting a foothold.
Service area
Based in Roy, WA, serving Pierce County, Thurston County, and nearby South Sound communities including Auburn, Bonney Lake, Buckley, DuPont, Eatonville, Edgewood, Fife, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Lacey, Milton, Olympia, Orting, Pacific, Puyallup, Spanaway, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tacoma, Tumwater, University Place, Yelm, and surrounding areas. Not sure if your address is covered? Just ask.
Pairs well with
Pressure washing your driveway or siding is a natural add-on to a gutter cleaning visit. If your roofline itself is mossy, that's its own service at a much lower pressure — see roof cleaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you pressure wash my roof too while you're here? Roofs need a lot less pressure than everything else on this page, so it's handled as its own visit rather than the same pass — see roof cleaning for how that's done.
Will pressure washing damage my siding? Not when it's done at the right PSI for the material. Vinyl and fiber cement both need a soft-wash approach, which is exactly how I treat them.
How much does pressure washing cost? It depends on the surface and size — you'll get a specific number after a free, in-person look, not a guess over the phone.
How often should I have this done? Roughly once a year for most surfaces, closer to every six months for shaded or heavily wooded areas.
Is the estimate really free? Yes, no obligation to book.
