FAQ'S
How Often Do We Need To Wash Our House, Deck, Fence Driveway?
General - How often a house/roof needs washing relies on a few variables: if the house is surrounded by a dense tree canopy it will more than likely need once a year. Houses that get heavy sun without any shade will need less frequent cleaning every 1-2 years. It all depends how much mold, mildew build up on your house. That said it won’t hurt your house if you decide to clean it once a year.
Driveways – We recommend yearly or every two years. Driveway power washing especially in steep driveways decline, incline can be slippery and dangerous to walk on.
Decks - We recommend washing when you first notice signs of mold, mildew and fungus are indicators of water collecting on deck surfaces. Being that wood is a porous living organism it will absorb water and will eventually rot, decay. Black mold is usually the first indicator of an underlying problem – typically it is due to gunk, debris collecting between deck boards and not allowing water to escape between floor-boards. This pooling of water will cause a large amount of black, green mold which will eventually cause wood rot. Cleaning your deck once a year to twice a year will ensure that your deck stays clean , mold free year-round. This also allows you to seal and stain your deck sealing out all moisture and ensuring your fence has a long life.
Fences - require cleaning at least every other year or the first signs of algae, mildew, mold . This ensures that we can get it before it gets out of hand. This also allows you to seal and stain your fence thereby sealing out all moisture and ensuring your fence has a long life.
Pool decks - We recommend cleaning before putting the deck into service for the summer. Pool deck surfaces can become highly slippery and dangerous to walk, or in the case of children to run on. We encourage our customers to sign up for our pressure washing service plan to ensure these areas don’t get missed before starting to use your pool heavily.
How Much Do You Charge To Clean A House
We tailor the price for each job because each job varies such as square footage, type of surface and what service is needed (Power/Pressure/ or soft washing. We base our prices on a few variables here are a few examples:
Houses: Vinyl siding, brick, stucco, etc. How dirty the house is, amount and type of soiling, as in red clay stains, rust stains, black markings. All these variables affect the price of a house washing.
Driveways: Steep driveways are more difficult, stains, oils, Driveways with a lot of cracks require more attention as well.
Do We Need To Be Home When You Pressure Wash The House?
We always like to err on the side of caution- Many times homeowners forget to shut and lock all windows. Besides having someone who can shut a window that was forgotten, we prefer to have someone home with a towel to ensure no droplets find their way on their hardwood floors, etc. Older homes usually have older doors, and windows with substantial gaps, and air pockets. For this reason we suggest someone be home for the aatleast the beging when we arive.
If for some reason no one can be home on the day of service we do ask that you ensure all windows are closed and locked to help seal the window from leaking. Leave gates unlocked prior to our arrival. If you are able to do so, we recommend that you lay a towel on the floor, inside doors and windows to absorb any water that may enter as a result of defective door or window seals. Remove all items from the work area and take in any lawn furniture pillows or other items that may be damaged.
What's The Difference Between Power Washing, Pressure Washing and Soft Washing?
Pressure washing, uses the same high-pressure water blast as power washing but doesn’t use heated water. Pressure washing blasts away dirt but doesn’t perform as well against moss, mold, or other tough stuck on substances.
Power washing (Steam cleaning), is using high temperature Hot water which is beneficial when cleaning grease stains (gas stations, etc).
Soft wash is not the same as pressure or power wash, – it’s a low pressure high volume stream of water that is the safest and most effective removal of surface contaminants such as mold, algae, mildew, and dirt.
Do You Move Our Furniture Away From The House Before A Pressure Wash? Move Furniture Back? Do You Clean Furniture?
It is the homeowner’s responsibility to move everything of the and away from the area to be cleaned. We can clean most outdoor furniture depending on type and condition of the furniture.
How Long Does The Washing Take?
The time it takes to complete is dependent on many factors because each job is unique, such as the size of the surface and the amount of buildup.
How Long Does It Take To Schedule With Central Ohio Grime Fighters?
Depending on the time of year 3-7 business days, we try to schedule jobs ASAP. The sooner you approve the estimate the sooner you get on the schedule. We can get you a service date the same day that we quote your project, but the turnaround time on completing the service could be anywhere from 2 day to a week. However, because we sincerely care about our customers’ needs, we do offer an expedite service when available to accommodate for special occasions or emergencies.
Do You Have A Minimum Service Charge and if so, how much is it?
Yes, our minimum service fee is $250.00 before tax. This charge can include any combinationof our services.
How Fast Can You Give Me A Quote?
Because every property and project is different, there are different variables involved in our estimate process and each one takes a different amount of time. For residential properties, we try to have you a quote in 24 - 48 hour (M-F). For commercial properties, most can be quoted in that same time frame, but if it’s a very large projects it could take up to 1-3 days.
How Do I Lift Oil Stains From A Commercial Property?
There are a few different methods to use, but they will all include the use of degreasers, hot water, and the crossing of fingers. Most of the time, we will tell customers that they should not get their hopes up even if we have experience with the particular kind of stain they are looking for help to lift. Customers can expect anywhere from 10%-100% improvement on their stain. While we understand that this is a ridiculously large gap, it’s unfortunately just the nature of oil stains. We will scrub, pre-treat and post treat, use hot water at 180F and do the best that we can to lift stains for you, but a lot of times there is not a lot that we can do. Because we are working against time, it is important that you call us right away. The difference of 12 hours can change everything. If you have a recent oil spill, call our team and let us know and we will do our best to rearrange our schedule for that day to make sure that you get moved to the top of our list.
Will You Use My Water?
Yes, we do require access to a working water spigot on the outside of the house.
What If We Don’t Have Running Water?
We do offer a water service depending on the size of the job.
Will Your House Wash Remove The “Green Stuff” From My Siding?
Yes, it will. The “green stuff” you see on your siding is a form of algae that affects thousands of homes each year. Our process is designed to eliminate not only algae from your siding, but also mold, dirt, grime, and other contaminants.
What Are The Dark Streaks On My Roof?
The black streaks on your roof are an infestation known as Gloeocapsa Magma. This algae eats away at the limestone filler in your shingles, leaving behind a dark residue. Our roof treatment is designed to remove these black streaks and neutralize the infestation at its roots.
How Do I Pay Central Ohio Grime Fighters For My Services?
You will need to place a credit or debit card on file during the scheduling process. You will not be billed until after the job is completed.
When the job is completed we will send you an invoice to pay online once the services are completed. We accept all major credit cards.
Will I be charged when I schedule my service?
No. Your card is not charged until the day after service is completed.
Why Should I Have My Home/Property Cleaned?
Well there are two important aspects to consider when asking this question. While pressure washing and exterior cleaning will dramatically add bounds to the aesthetic value of your property, our services can also end up saving you money in repairs, add longevity to your surfaces from being properly maintained, and reduce the risk of slips and falls from a surface that can quickly turn into an ice rink if algae and mildew buildup is allowed.
Why Should I Have My Roof Cleaned?
Besides a roof cleaning dramatically increasing curb appeal and home value, cleaning your roof is something that must be done to maintain the longevity of the roof’s life. Many times, insurance claims for roof replacements can be denied because a roof had not been properly maintained throughout it’s lifetime. Keeping tabs on your own property and making sure that the roof is being taken care of with cleanings every 5 years will ensure that you are able to enjoy the full duration of your roof’s life.
Will Roof Cleaning Damage My Shingles?
No. The method that we use for roof cleaning and other sensitive surfaces is called “soft washing” and it is essentially the application of chemicals and detergents across the surface that will kill and clean all of the algae/mold spores from your roof. We will then do a thorough rinsing of this chemical wash residue, but we encourage you to read more from our Residential subpage “Roof Cleaning” on our website. Additionally, these chemicals are applied at about 120psi which is roughly the same amount of pressure that a garden hose spigot delivers when it is turned all of the way up.