Why house washing in Jacksonville has to be a soft wash
Jacksonville sits in a humid subtropical zone that averages around 50 inches of rain a year. That combination — warmth, moisture and shade — is ideal for gloeocapsa magma (the black staining you see on north-facing walls) and for the green algae film that builds on anything shaded by live oaks.
Those are living organisms with root structures that sit in the pores of your stucco or the texture of your vinyl. A 3,000 PSI blast removes the visible colour but leaves the roots. Within a Jacksonville summer it is back.
A soft wash reverses the order of operations: chemistry does the killing, water only carries it away. We apply the solution at under 500 PSI — roughly what comes out of your garden hose — let it dwell 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse.
- High pressure on vinyl forces water behind the panels, where it feeds mould inside the wall cavity
- High pressure on stucco and Dryvit chips the finish and opens hairline cracks
- High pressure on Hardie board and painted wood strips the coating and raises the grain
- High pressure on window seals breaks the gasket and causes fogging between panes
What we clean, and the method for each surface
Not every wall on a Jacksonville home takes the same treatment. Mix ratio and dwell time change with the substrate, and getting that wrong is how siding gets damaged.
| Surface | Method | Approx. pressure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl siding | Soft wash, 1–2% solution | Under 500 PSI | Most common in Jacksonville's 1980s–2000s builds. Rinse top-down. |
| Stucco / Dryvit | Soft wash, 1% solution | Under 300 PSI | Never pressure-blast. Cracks let water into the EIFS layer. |
| Hardie / fibre cement | Soft wash, 1–2% solution | Under 500 PSI | Safe when the paint is sound. We spot-test first. |
| Brick | Soft wash, 2–3% solution | Under 800 PSI | Older mortar is soft; we keep pressure low near the joints. |
| Painted wood | Soft wash, 1% solution | Under 300 PSI | Chalking paint needs a gentler mix and a longer rinse. |
| Aluminium siding | Soft wash, 1% solution | Under 300 PSI | Prone to oxidation streaking — hand-detailed where needed. |
What house washing costs in Jacksonville
Most Jacksonville pressure cleaning companies price house washing by square footage of the home's footprint, not the wall area. As of 2026 the local range is around $0.12 to $0.22 per square foot.
Our own pricing sits inside that band. The figures below are what we actually quote, and we put every one in writing before we book.
- Heavy black streaking that needs a second application adds roughly 15%
- Homes behind a gate, on a slope, or over water take longer to set up
- Bundling a driveway or roof clean on the same visit saves the second trip charge
| Home size | Single storey | Two storey | Time on site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 sq ft | $249 – $299 | $319 – $379 | 2 hours |
| 1,500 – 2,000 sq ft | $279 – $349 | $369 – $439 | 2–3 hours |
| 2,000 – 2,500 sq ft | $329 – $409 | $429 – $519 | 3 hours |
| 2,500 – 3,500 sq ft | $399 – $529 | $519 – $679 | 3–4 hours |
| 3,500 sq ft + | Quoted on site | Quoted on site | 4 hours + |
How often should a Jacksonville home be washed?
Once every 18 to 24 months keeps most Jacksonville homes clean. That is more often than the national advice of every 2–3 years, because our humidity and tree cover accelerate regrowth.
Two things shorten the interval: heavy shade and proximity to water. Homes in Mandarin and Ortega under mature oak canopy, and homes backing onto the Intracoastal or a retention pond, often need a wash every 12 months. Homes in newer, open subdivisions like Nocatee frequently stretch to 24 months.
What happens on the day
We aim to make this the least disruptive service you book all year. You do not need to be home, and we bring our own water and power.
- We walk the property with you (or send photos if you are out) and note anything fragile
- Windows and doors get checked shut; we flag any that leak before we start
- All planting within the spray zone is soaked with clean water first, and again after
- We work top-down in sections so nothing dries with solution on it
- Final rinse, then a walk-around — we do not pack up until you have seen it
What's included in every job
No line items appear on the invoice that weren't on the quote. Everything below is part of the price:
- Full soft wash of siding, soffits, fascia and eaves
- Pre-wetting and post-rinsing of all landscaping
- Window exteriors, frames and sills rinsed down
- Front door, porch ceiling and light fixtures wiped
- Downspouts and gutter faces cleaned externally
- Spider webs, wasp nests and mud-dauber tubes removed
Two-storey, heavy growth and difficult access move the price up. Read more in our Jacksonville pricing guide, or see what to ask before hiring anyone.
Expert tips from our crew
Things worth knowing whether or not you hire anyone. Several of these will save you money, and a couple of them will save you from a repair bill.
Turn the sprinkler heads away from the wall
The single most effective free thing you can do. A head throwing water onto siding keeps a permanent damp band at the base of the wall, and on well water it adds rust staining on top. Five minutes with a screwdriver typically pushes a 12-month wash cycle out to 18.
Cut planting back 18 inches from the wall
Air movement is what dries a wall. Shrubs pressed against siding trap humidity against it all summer, which is why the worst growth is almost always behind a hedge rather than out in the open.
Check the north elevation first
North and east walls get the least direct sun, so they dry slowest and always show growth first. If the north wall still looks clean, you can safely leave the whole house another season.
Do not use a pressure washer on siding yourself
If you want to DIY, use a garden-hose-pressure pump sprayer with a dilute solution and a surfactant. The damage we get called to look at is almost never from the chemical — it is from someone using driveway pressure on a wall.
