Commercial power washing protects the appearance and condition of a storefront, restaurant, and other such commercial structures, helping you to avoid unnecessary repairs and ensuring that your business is welcoming to customers and clients. Investing in regular, consistent professional power washing is then an investment in your business!
Professional commercial power washing removes built-up dirt and grime from a structure's roof, exterior windows, and exterior walls, as well as parking lots and walkways, protecting your building from damage and ensuring it looks clean and presentable for visitors and inspectors. A professional power washing contractor will also ensure the job gets done correctly and thoroughly and will avoid causing damage to the building or your exterior property during the wash process.
While regular pressure washing of your commercial business is needed to keep that building clean and free of unnecessary damage, a business owner should never take it upon themselves to rent a power washer and clean their office building or storefront. This cleaning is also not a job for a standard maintenance person or janitor! To ensure you keep your building properly maintained and looking its best, note some vital information about commercial pressure washing and its advantages for every business owner.
Professional Commercial Power Washing Services Protect Your Structure
Built-up dirt, grime, dried dust, mud, silt, and other such residues are more than just unsightly along a building's walls and roof. The debris that settles onto exterior surfaces can also eat way at brick, concrete, roofing shingles, timber, and other such materials. If left unwashed, brick and concrete become soft and begin to crumble, while other materials and surfaces might get brittle and then crack and chip
This damage to exterior surfaces can result in early and unnecessary repairs for your building; you might need to patch brick and concrete sooner than you would otherwise, and also replace damaged roof shingles and paper. Softened brick and concrete along a structure's exterior walls and foundation lead to cracks and chips in these materials, which then allow water to seep into the building's interior. These water leaks get absorbed by a structure's framework, causing that wood to soften, and resulting in future mold growth.
Unchecked dust, dirt, grime, silt, and other such debris on exterior window glass will eventually soften or scratch that glass, making it weaker and more prone to breakage. Softened or damaged glass can also become thin, so that the glass doesn't insulate the building as it should, leading to an uncomfortable interior and higher utility bills. Investing in professional power washing avoids all this early damage so that your structure is always in good repair.
Why a Clean Building is Vital for Any Business
It's vitally important for restaurants and other food service establishments to ensure that their building is clean from top to bottom, no matter commercial pressure washing prices, and not just in the kitchen and dining areas. Neglecting to keep your building's exterior clean can give potential customers the impression that you also ignore the kitchen, pantry, walk-in coolers, and other areas that affect the safety of their food! The same is true for medical facilities, as patients might assume that a dirty exterior means that your treatment rooms are just as filthy and neglected
A dirty and neglected exterior can also be very unwelcoming for anyone who might frequent any business, whether it's a home goods store, clothing retailer, and the like. Dirty windows, stains on the sidewalk and in the parking lot, and mildew or moss growing along the edges of a roof can make your building seem downright unwelcoming so that potential customers take their business elsewhere.
Note, too, that a dirty storefront and built-up dust and dirt on windows can also keep customers from seeing inside your establishment. If customers cannot see inside a building, they may hesitate to go in, not knowing if there is a line to be seated, if you sell products that appeal to them, or if you're even open! Keeping your storefront and especially a food service facility clean and presentable is therefore vital for your business overall.
Can You DIY Pressure Washing for a Commercial Building?
Renting a commercial pressure washer and managing the cleaning of your building is not necessarily a good way to save money on commercial pressure washing prices or to address needed exterior cleaning for your building. Note a few reasons why pressure washing a commercial building is not necessarily a DIY job:
- Your time is better spent running your business than it is picking up a rented pressure washer, figuring out how it works and which cleansers to use on various surfaces, learning how to operate the machine properly, and then returning that washer to the rental agency. A thorough wash of a commercial building often takes several hours, if not all day, which means an entire day for you to be away from your business! This lost time can be more costly than the price of hiring professional commercial power washing services.
- Pressure washers are much more difficult to manage than you might realize. High-powered washers produce quite a bit of pressure, more so than the machines you use at a manual car wash, and it's easy to lose control of such equipment while it's in use, resulting in property damage or personal injury.
- Proper and efficient washing of a building's exterior surfaces is also not as easy as you might assume. Improper techniques can leave behind water spots on glass as well streaks and splatters along outside walls, and result in a very inefficient cleaning.
- Improper use of a pressure washer can also result in property damage, including broken windows, broken exterior lighting fixtures, chipped brick and concrete, scratched paint, dented aluminum downspouts, signs, and other such features, loosened roofing tiles, and loosened patio pavers or river rocks. It's also easy to damage a lawn and landscaping features when using a pressure washer for the first time!
- Professional power washing contractors have access to high-powered commercial pressure washing equipment and specialty detergents that are not typically available to the everyday consumer. These machines and cleansers are necessary for washing away grease, paint, graffiti, oil spots, food debris, and other such residues, and can make quick, efficient work of needed property cleaning.
Note, too, that your property insurance might not cover damage you cause to your commercial property or an injury you cause to someone while using a pressure washer; in many cases, damage that is your fault, even if caused during a needed cleaning, is not included in a liability policy. This lack of coverage is another reason to leave this work to a professional commercial pressure washing service, as they should have such a liability insurance policy and are otherwise responsible for any costs associated with any damage or injury they cause.
Why Choose Soft Cleaning Commercial Power Washing Services
A soft clean system uses specialty surfactants or cleansers that gently dissolve thick dirt, grime, mud, dust, silt, and other such residues so that this debris can be rinsed with very low water pressure. Soft wash power washing is an excellent choice for virtually any exterior surface, and especially for a commercial building:
- Old roofing shingles tend to be brittle and loose, and high-pressure cleaning can cause them to split, crack, crumble, or just come off the roof entirely. A soft wash cleaning solution dissolves thick dirt and grime from a roof, seeping into all the areas around shingles and flashing, so only a low-pressure rinse is needed to remove that debris.
- Storefront glass exposed to constant sunlight and harsh weather tends to get brittle and delicate over the years, as well as caked with thick mud, grime, and soot from passing cars. Standard high-pressure washing can remove that thick dirt but damage delicate glass! A soft wash cleanser will dissolve the thickest grime from storefront windows while a low-pressure rinse protects the glass from damage.
- Aged wood signs can be soft or brittle, and may have developed many cracks and chips over the years. Older paint on aged signs can also be brittle and might easily chip or crack under a high-pressure rinse. The surfactants used with a soft wash system will gently dissolve thick dirt and grime from wood signage, and the low-pressure rinse won't cause crack or chips in either the wood or its surface paint.
- If you want to keep your business open during a commercial pressure cleaning, a soft wash system with low-pressure rinse is an excellent option! The lower pressure used during a soft cleaning rinse and commercial pressure washing service won't cause as much splatter and splashing that would otherwise be bothersome to your customers or clients, and that would otherwise allow water to get inside the front doors while customers are coming and going.
Related Questions
Is there a difference between commercial and residential power washing?
A pressure washing company that only handles residential properties might not have experience in cleaning asphalt parking lots and signage. However, many power washing companies offer both residential and commercial cleaning and can clean your commercial building effortlessly.
How often should a commercial building be pressure washed?
All structures should be pressure washed at least annually, while food service establishments, medical facilities, and buildings located in areas prone to strong storms should be cleaned as needed to maintain their overall appearance. Storefront glass often requires monthly or even weekly cleaning.
Does commercial pressure washing damage a building or its roof?
Professional commercial power washing should not cause damage to a structure or its roof, no matter its age or condition. However, a thorough power washing might reveal areas of damage, including cracked brick and concrete or split roofing shingles, that need immediate repair.