Hire a professional power washer to clean your deck
You should power wash your deck once a year to keep it in pristine condition. Pressure washing your deck prevents mildew and algae growth and keeps it looking good as new. But it’s easy to damage your deck or cause injury if you don’t know what you’re doing.
The good news: You can hire someone to power wash your deck for you. A professional power washing company near you will clean your deck more effectively, using proprietary cleaning solutions and eliminating the risk of damaging your deck—as well as the landscaping, windows, and siding immediately surrounding your deck.
There are several benefits of hiring a local deck cleaning company, rather than attempting to power wash the deck yourself, including:
No damage or injury risk: Homeowners who rent or purchase their own power washer may not have the proper understanding of how these powerful tools work. It’s easy to apply too much pressure and damage the wood of your deck—or even the siding or windows on a nearby wall. (And window and siding repair costs add up!) Even more importantly, homeowners could potentially injure themselves or nearby family members or pets if pointing the pressure washer in the wrong direction. Going with a pro eliminates this risk.
Special cleaning solutions: Professional power washing companies have access to proprietary cleaning solutions that are more effective and are likely better for the environment. Such solutions are much preferred alternatives to bleach for pressure washing. In addition, pros know how to maximize their cleaning power while minimizing their water usage.
Convenience (and cost savings): Power washing your deck on your own means going to the hardware store to rent the pressure washer—and then returning it when you’re done. Not to mention the time it takes to actually clean the deck on your own. Power washer rentals can also get expensive. Renting a pressure washer costs anywhere from $50 to $250, which could make it almost as costly as hiring a pro.
While it’s possible to rent a pressure washer and clean your deck yourself, we don’t encourage it. As we’ve mentioned, DIY pressure washing your deck (or driveway, patio, or siding) can easily lead to damage and injury, and it’s also easy to make one of these common pressure washing mistakes when going it alone. Weigh the pros and cons of DIY pressure washing before taking on this task.
If you’re going to tackle this project on your own, make sure you read our comprehensive guide on how to pressure wash a deck safely and simply.
You might be able to save some money by hiring a handyperson to power wash your deck. Handyperson prices typically start at $40 an hour, but you may still need to pay to rent a power washer unless the handyperson includes that in their rate. For comparison, the professional labor cost to pressure wash your deck runs between $50 and $100 an hour—which isn’t much more than the cost to hire a handyperson.
As with DIYing, a handyperson may not have special training on using a pressure washer and may not have access to the most effective and environmentally friendly cleaning solutions. When in doubt, call in a trained professional.
