Every spring a trailer with a pressure washer on it knocks on doors in Wappingers Falls and Fishkill offering to do the house today for cash. Every spring a few homeowners say yes, and by June they have stripes on the siding, a roof with the granules washed into the gutters and nobody answering the phone. The difference between that and a house that looks new for three years is seven questions, asked before anyone unrolls a hose. Here they are, with the answers you should hear.
1. Are You Insured, And Will You Send Me The Certificate?
Not “are you insured,” which everyone says yes to, but “send me the certificate.” General liability covers your house, your windows and your car if something goes wrong. Workers’ compensation covers the person on the ladder. Without both, a fall on your property lands on your homeowner’s policy, and a cracked window or a flooded basement is your argument to have. A real company has the certificate ready and sends it the same day. MJK Solutions is licensed and fully insured, and the certificate goes out on request, before the job, every time.
2. Do You Soft Wash, Or Pressure Wash Everything?
This is the question that separates the companies. Siding, roofs, decks, fences, stucco and anything painted are soft washed: a cleaning solution at low pressure kills the algae and mildew at the root and the surface is untouched. Concrete and pavers get the pressure. A company that runs one machine at one setting across the whole house is the one that leaves wand marks in the vinyl, lifts the paint, forces water behind the laps and strips the granules off the roof, and because pressure does not kill the growth, the green is back within the year. If the answer to “how will you clean my roof” involves the word pressure, end the conversation.
3. What Does The Price Include, And Is It Firm?
A price should be in writing, against a list of what is being cleaned, and it should not move on the day. Ask what is in it: the whole house or the front? The gutters’ faces or the insides? The windows, and the screens? The walkway, the front steps, the foundation? A house wash starts at $495 and a roof wash starts at $995 in Dutchess County, and the quote you get from us lists every surface and every number before we start. An hourly rate, a price over the phone without seeing the house, or a “starting at” that never lands on a real figure are the three ways to pay more than the quote.
4. What Happens To My Plants, My Windows And My Outlets?
The answer you want is specific. The plantings along the foundation are the same the next day. The windows are not streaked and the screens are not torn. The outlets, the light fixtures and the doorbell still work. A company that has done this a thousand times has a plain answer for each; a company that has not will say “we’re careful.” Our preparation page tells you the two or three things we ask you to do before we arrive, and everything else is ours to handle.
5. Who Is Actually Showing Up?
Ask whether the people who quoted the job are the people who do it, in their own trucks, or whether it goes to a subcontractor you have never spoken to. Ask where the company is based. A local company with a real address in Poughkeepsie, its own crew and its name on the truck has a reputation to protect on every street it works. A phone number and a trailer do not. You should know who is coming, roughly when, and who to call if the answer is not right.
6. What Is The Warranty, And What Happens If It Comes Back?
A roof that is soft washed correctly stays clean for three to five years. A company that knows that will put it in writing. Every full-roof wash we do carries our One-Year Roof Wash Warranty: if the moss or algae has not cleared within a year, we re-treat at no charge. Every job is backed by a satisfaction guarantee, in the quote, not on a handshake. A company that will not warranty the roof is telling you how it cleans the roof.
7. Can I See Your Work Near Me?
Any company can show you a photo of a clean house. Ask for work in your town. Our gallery and reviews are on the site, and the pages for Hopewell Junction, Rhinebeck, Millbrook and the rest of Dutchess County show what we do on the kinds of homes that are actually there. Then look at the reviews on Google and read the bad ones too; how a company handles the one job that went sideways tells you more than fifty five-star ratings.
The Red Flags, In One Place
No certificate. No written quote. An hourly rate. Pressure washing the roof. Cash only. No local address. A deal that is only good today. Any one of them is enough to say no, and the trailer in the driveway in April usually has four of them. The homeowner who asks the seven questions above never has to learn this the expensive way.
What You Should Hear From Us
Licensed and fully insured, certificate on request. Soft wash on every surface it belongs on, pressure only on the flatwork. A firm price in writing that lists every surface. Plants, windows and fixtures the same the next day. Our own crew, in our own trucks, out of Poughkeepsie. A One-Year Roof Wash Warranty and a satisfaction guarantee in the quote. And work you can go look at in your own town. That is how we run the company, and it is the standard to hold anyone else to.
Ask Us The Seven
Send us your address and a photo from the driveway and you will have a firm number, usually the same day, with every one of the seven answered in the quote. Request a quote or call (845) 709-9443.
Hiring A Pressure Washing Company FAQ
Whether they are insured and will send the certificate, whether they soft wash siding and roofs or pressure wash everything, what the written price includes, how they protect plants and windows, who is actually showing up, what the warranty covers, and where you can see their work nearby. A company that answers all seven without hesitating is the one to hire.
Yes, and you should see the certificate, not take the word for it. General liability covers your house if something goes wrong; workers’ compensation covers the person on the ladder. Without both, a fall on your property becomes a claim on your homeowner’s policy. MJK Solutions is licensed and fully insured and sends the certificate on request.
For siding, roofs, decks, fences and anything painted, yes. A soft wash kills the growth with a cleaning solution at low pressure and lasts two to three years; pressure strips the surface, leaves the growth alive and voids shingle warranties. Pressure belongs on concrete and pavers. A company that uses one method on everything is the wrong company.
A house wash starts at $495 and a roof wash at $995 in Dutchess County, with the number set by the size, stories and condition, and every job quoted at a firm price in writing before it starts. A quote by the hour, a price given over the phone without seeing the house, or a number that changes on the day are the three things to walk away from.
No insurance certificate, no written quote, an hourly rate, pressure washing the roof, cash only, no local address, and a trailer that shows up at your door in April offering a deal today only. Any one of them is enough.
Every full-roof wash carries our One-Year Roof Wash Warranty, and every job is backed by a satisfaction guarantee. If something is not right, we come back. That is written into the quote, not promised on the driveway.
